Hoshidan customs and Nohrian sweets
by GrimCookie
Summary: She drove him up the wall sometimes, well, most times. But Takumi couldn't deny he started to develop a soft spot for the youngest Nohrian Princess, not that he would ever say it out loud... (Elise/Takumi Oneshots) (Suggestions are welcome!)
1. Afternoon nap shenanigans

**I'm a sucker for pairings of, for example, person A being from the enemy country of person B, opossite royalty and such. The Hoshido and Nohr sibs are perfect for this, and aside from Camilla/Ryoma, I fell hard and fast for the Elise/Takumi supports.**

 **So a serie of Oneshots is born, maybe, hopefully. Think of them from C to S supports, maybe going from A to A+ and so on too.**

 **Also, might contain spoilers for Revelations route here and there, obviously. And second pairings mentioned in the backgrounds too.**

 **Anyway! Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo yadayadayada. I just write this for fun.**

* * *

Takumi isn't really sure what to think when he found himself lying down on someone's lap. The shade provided by a tree and the soft, warm breeze coursing through made him slightly sleepy, an old memory coming to life back when his mother was alive.

Back when there wasn't the ominous threat of war around the corner.

"This feels like back in the castle gardens…"

"Huh?"

The short lived memory came to an abrupt halt when the prince recovered his senses. His eyes focused enough to see violet eyes staring down at him in mild confusion and he realized with a start that he was lying on Princess Elise's lap, both in the security of Lilith's Deep Realm.

"Gah!"

"Ah!"

The prince quickly got up, barely avoiding headbutting Elise on the head and feeling the tip of his ears uncomfortably warm. By the Gods, why had he done that?!

"W-Why did I-?! What was I doing-?!"

"Huh?" The youngest Nohrian princess repeated, blinking once, twice, before looking at Takumi with confusion in her eyes. "Are you okay, Takumi? The heat isn't too much, is it? Ooh, maybe I should have brought my staff along…"

"What? The heat?" It was quite hot outside, now that he thought about it. But that was far beyond the point. "No! I mean- Why was I dozing off on y-your...your...lap?"

Elise looked at him again before a small smile started showing on her face, giggling a bit as she answered. "You don't remember?"

"N-No, that's why I'm asking you."

"We we're having a tea party, silly!"

...Okay, that he could remember. Elise offered him some Nohrian pastries called Treacle tarts and kept asking him about Hoshidan customs. Something about forks and chopsticks, and some tea that had a sweet taste of caramel and cinnamon.

"...Wait, then why are we here?"

"Oh, it was too hot inside so we called it quits. And then I thought that it would be nicer outside in a good shade!"

Takumi nodded absentmindedly, the heat around his ears simmering down as the seconds ticked and the breeze ran among them. "Okay, but why was _I_ _on_ _your lap_?"

"You were dozing off with your neck stretched really weird!" The blonde girl answered with a small, entertained smile. "And I thought that looked reeeally uncomfortable and that your neck would hurt once you woke up, so I moved you a bit!"

"You...moved me." Takumi answered in a faint voice, praying feverishly that no one had seen that scene. "To your lap."

"Yep."

Elise giggled a bit, seeing no wrongdoing in her actions. "Sorry, we didn't really grabbed any pillows so I did what I could."

"It's just- just...Ugh…"

The Hoshidan prince covered his face with his hands, groaning into them for a couple of seconds. What would people think if they saw him? What would his siblings think? He, a _Hoshidan_ royal in such position with a _Nohrian_ princess that had once been the enemy?

Oh Gods.

"Ack, why did you…?! Who did…?!"

"Huh? Takumi, you're not making any sense!"

"Did someone see us?"

The blonde princess nodded once, completely unaware of the other's inner turmoil. "Um, yeah. Camilla passed by us a bit earlier just to tell me that the War council wasn't going to start until a couple more hours. Then she left."

Camilla. The eldest princess, that insufferable woman who had sort of _'adopted'_ him as a _'little brother'_ had seen them. What had been on her mind then? He could practically see her cooing at them and smiling that weird smile that he had only seen on his mother's face when she looked at him and his siblings together.

"Why her…" Takumi groaned, feeling his ears burning once again. "D-Did anyone else…?"

"Hmm, nope! Not that I'm aware of. No one else has come around since Camilla left."

Small mercies, he guessed. Takumi barely managed to feel slightly less embarrassed about the whole situation.

"Please never do that again."

"Huh, why?" Elise asked, genuinely confused and just a tad hurt. She was just trying to do something nice.

"B-Because people might see and...and think!" Takumi answered back, his voice wavering just slightly and the tip of his ears burned uncomfortably.

"...Think?"

"Yes."

"Think...what?"

"Think that… that we're…"

"That we're...what? Slacking off?"

She couldn't possibly be serious.

"No! I mean, maybe that, yes. But think that we're also…also..."

"...Hmm?"

Takumi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a few moments before letting go. Forcing himself to think on anything else that wasn't what could have happened if someone, sans Camilla, had seen them like that.

Him being basically cuddled up against Elise's lap.

"N-Nevermind. Let's just go back inside."

"Uh...Okay, sure!"

The prince nodded, getting up from the grass and hesitantly offering a hand to Elise, who happily took it and pulled herself up.

* * *

"Camilla? Hello, earth to Camilla…"

"Oh? Oh, I'm sorry darling, I got distracted for a bit."

Corrin tilted her head slightly, red eyes blinking a couple of times in confusion. "Ah, what were you thinking about? If I may ask."

"Haha, Nothing darling. I was just thinking back at the adorable sight I caught while on my way here. Though not as adorable as you."

"Huh?"

Camilla gently kissed her younger sister's forehead and smiled at her, walking away with a happy smile.

"Ah, I wish there was a way to get such image engraved. Elise and prince Takumi looked so adorably sweet like that…" She mumbled to herself. "I think I will keep this one to myself."

* * *

 **Aaand first one is done. I wanted to do something big but...hands...and laziness and general anxiety ruinning my sleep schedule and creative capacity and stuff, idk.**

 **Also, is there a ship name for them? Elitaku? Takulise? I'm confused.**


	2. Friendly teaching

**And another one! Boy, I don't want to burn off of these. These are seriously getting fun to write as I go, and hell, I want to go to mushy romance straight away but at the same time the plot bunnies are all over that _awkward-not-so-grumpy-cute-friendship_ and _crap-is-this-the-beggining-of-a-crush_ plots ;v;**

 **Also, Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! I've saved the suggestion given by Namgum and will try to work around it sometime soon, but again, darned plot bunnies all over the place!**

 **Anyway, second OneShot. Fire emblem isn't mine and yadayadayada, you guys know how this works.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Elise grumbled angrily for the fourth time in a span of ten minutes. The little piece of paper in her hands seemed like an unsolvable riddle to her eyes instead of four small, innocent symbols written in ink.

How could Xander read this? This didn't make any sense!

Huffing, the Nohrian girl stepped away from the common room and stepped outside the building. Corrin and a few others had decided to guard some kind of treasure for a couple of guys, and the rest had a chance to rest for the night to and take lead in the morning as soon as they were back to rest.

Now that seemed troublesome, because Xander wasn't there to decode those odd symbols for her. Who could help her then?

Looking around, Elise saw a few of the Nohrian soldiers going around their day, yet she was sure they wouldn't be of much help. Maybe someone from Hoshido…

...Ah! Just the person she needed!

"Ah, Takumi! There you are!"

The young princess quickly skipped towards the archer, the small piece of paper securely held in her hands. Her twin tails flying behind her in her haste.

"Hm?"

"I need your help! Pleeease!"

Takumi sighed, shifting his attention from the parchment he was writing on to the running blur of black, pink and yellow coming towards him. "Hello, Elise." He mumbled, nodding towards her rather slowly. Still sulking the fact that he hadn't had a chance to fight in a while.

"Hi!"

"...Did you need something?"

"Yes! Yes I did. Here!"

"Huh?"

The princess handed over the small piece of paper to Takumi, who took it with confusion written on his face that didn't really lessened as he took in whatever that was written on it.

"Can you read that?"

"...Yeah, it has your name written on it."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, can't you read it?"

The girl shook her head, leaning over to look at the piece of paper again. "Nope, it just looks like symbols to me, though Xander can read it…"

"Prince Xander knows Japanese? Also, where did you get this?"

"He does, Father made him learn when he was a kid!" She answered, thinking for a few seconds. "Azura gave it to me, she was writing a lot of stuff, I don't know why."

Takumi nodded, folding the paper and handing it back to the blonde girl, looking just a tad annoyed. "I see...Is that all you needed?"

"Nope! Can you teach me?"

The Hoshidan prince blinked slowly, looking at Elise strangely for just a few seconds before her words finally clicked.

"...Excuse me?"

"I said, if you could teach me Japanese?"

"Why do you want to learn…?"

Elise smiled, bright, wide smile that never seemed to be wiped off her face when she was happy or just wanted to smile. "Because I want to learn! I would need to know because I'm a princess, and because we're friends!"

" _In neutral terms._ " Takumi grumbled, thought didn't shot down the princess's request right there and then. "What has that to do with it?"

"You're a dummy." The blonde smiled, poking him in the cheek before he tried to swat her hand away, only for the girl to remove it faster, so he ended just softly swatting the air. "Since we're _friends_ , it would be nice to learn something of yours. I feel like you guys are adapting to Nohrian things, but we barely talk about things of Hoshido!"

"Oh." That was...very thoughtful of her, is he had to be honest. He had to admit he missed playing Shogi or just eat some Hoshidan snacks lately. "That's, err...kind of you, Elise." He nodded slightly, sighing through his nose before rolling up the piece of parchment he had been writting on. "Okay, I can teach you a bit. We need paper and ink though."

The girl beamed.

* * *

"Okay, okay. So, it's written like...this?"

"Hmm...No, not quite. You're missing a stroke. It's が."

"Okay, I think I got it…"

"Great. Then how it is pronounced?"

" ' _Gah'"_

"And the entire thing?"

"Hiragana!"

Takumi smiled slightly, a bit at how funny the word sounded with that slight Nohrian accent and at how exuberant Elise seemed while carefully trying to pronounce each syllable. She was, surprisingly, quite a good listener and got the hang of things fairly quickly for someone who had just started learning a different language.

Plus, she made them sound funny, words coming with a slight chirp that sometimes made them flounce syllable after syllable. Yet she sounded content when she spoke, or tried to, at the best of her capacity.

"Good, maybe with a bit of more pronunciation and memory work, you could start getting the hang of basic Kanji in a little while."

"Hehe, great! Thank you, Takumi!"

The prince smiled slightly, yet took a small step back when the girl threw her arms around his sides, squeezing him slightly as he awkwardly patted her back.

"Gah! ...Y-yeah, yeah."

"I'm going to show Xander how much I've learned today. He'll be so surprised!"

"I bet." He mumbled, managing to avoid a sigh of relief when the princess let go of him and stepped back.

"Can you teach me again sometime?"

Takumi bit the inside of his cheek. While he, surprisingly, didn't really mind Elise's company as long as she wasn't too overwhelming, and she was a pretty decent student so far, he doubted this could be a daily occurrence.

"I… don't mind teaching you, not really. But I don't think we can do this everyday. We have to march, fight. And sometimes I hunt, while you have to go and treat wounded soldiers after battle."

Elise pouted, but nodded in understanding. They couldn't throw away their duties just like that. "Yeah, you're right."

"How about… ask your brother, Prince Xander or the id- I mean, Leo, to teach you a bit when they can, at least in the meanwhile?"

"Hnng." Elise nodded, her cheeks puffed out as she thought. "I hope they've got a bit of free time to do so, but okay, I'll ask them."

"Good, then when we have free time, you tell me what you've learned and we'll try to work from there. Maybe Sakura can help us out a bit." Takumi nodded, then mumbled to himself. "She has always had more patience than I had…"

"That sounds great!" The blonde princess smiled, bouncing on the ball of her feet. "I bet I'll learn twice as fast."

"Sounds possible."

"Thanks Takumi! You're a great friend."

"You're wel- Ack! What's with you and hugs?!"

Elise giggled, letting go of Takumi and skipping back towards the common rooms, waving goodbye at him before taking off.

" _..And we're just on neutral terms!_ "

"You know we're friends, silly!"

Takumi took his piece of parchment and walked away, grumbling as he neared the shop.

* * *

 **I can barely read Hiragana so I'm trying to, learn a bit more by myself. And boy is Japanese language HARD. I get lost with Kanji and Katakana.**

 **So, Next OneShot. Wonder what will it be. Will it be more frienship stuff? Maybe romance? Awkward crush realization? Or angsty Conquest/Birthright thoughts? Bunnies all over the place, I tell you!**


	3. Hunting Bunnies

**Finally got to write it! Namgum's suggestion was a really good one and I wanted to work with it, but plot bunnies (heh) are attacking. And not just for this series. It's kinda... all over the place, but more often than not I'm not ready to write or draw them.**

 **Also, again; Suggestion are very, _very_ welcome! The can be new OneShots, a plot for a continuation for one, AUs. Anything, really. I don't want to run out of ideas so I'm asking as much as I can here.**

 **Anyway. Fire emblem isn't mine because if it was. Corrin/Silas would be very heavily hinted at such as Elise/Takumi and you could marry F!Corrin to Azura. And She wouldn't be her (spoilers)**

 **Damnit Nintendo.**

* * *

Takumi breathed slowly, evenly. Crouching down low and carefully taking aim with his bow, weighing less than half of what Fujin Yumi did made it easier to focus and handle the weapon on his hands.

The bushes moved slightly, just barely. Takumi took a deep breath and his fingers barely twitched to let go of the arrow when the was more rustling, bigger and much more noticeable.

"NO!"

The shot came uneven, missing its target by more than just a couple of inches as the arrow landed with a dull 'thunk!' On a faraway tree. The Hoshidan prince growled in annoyance, turning his head to look and reprimand whoever had followed him in his hunt, and he knew who it was. So a good tongue lashing would probably be for the best.

Elise came from the opposite direction, looking frazzled and with leaves stuck in her blonde pigtails. She immediately swooped down to the ground, near the bush he was aiming for and scooped something up in her arms, holding whatever it was protectively near her chest.

"Hey!"

" _What are you doing here?!_ " Takumi snapped, walking towards the Nohrian princess in big steps. "What were you thinking, shouting like that? I could have shot you, for the Gods's sake!"

Elise, surprisingly, didn't backed down. Instead held her head high and looked at him straight in the eye before scowling. "What was I doing? What were you doing?!"

" _Hunting._ Or at least, I was trying to before you jumped out of the bushes!"

"Y-You were going to kill it!"

"Obviously. We need to eat and meat is going scarce." He answered with a frown. "Why did you followed me? I could have shot you! Or what if there was a bear near you before you found me, huh?"

"I don't care! And you didn't and there weren't any!"

"Not the point! You don't follow a hunter to the forest and hide in the bushes while on his line of sight!" Takumi growled again, holding his tongue against the less savory words he wanted to say at the moment.

"You don't kill baby animals for food either!"

Takumi rolled his eyes. To Elise every sort of small animal was a baby. " _Fine_. You know what, no meat today. _Let's go._ "

"Wh-Hey, hold on! You're scaring him!"

"Scaring _who_?"

Elise huffed, reluctantly showing the small, soft brown ball of hair in her hands. A small bunny, probably just a couple of weeks old, pressed to her chest, staying still while its hair stood on end in panic.

Takumi frowned, that thing was far too small to be the one he had been tracking a few minutes ago. And too small for a decent meal, too.

"Him. I saved him and I'm not letting you hunt him!"

Elise puffed out her cheeks and carefully started petting the wild animal, cooing at it softly before Takumi cleared his throat.

" _We're going_. And you better don't follow me on my next hunt!"

"Hmph!"

Elise turned her nose up at him and started walking ahead, still petting the small bunny as Takumi gathered his bow and walked behind her, looking immensely annoyed with the girl.

"I'm telling your siblings what almost happened here, you hear?"

"Don't care, you big...big...baby animal killer!"

Takumi clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. He was telling her sibling what almost happened here. He was sure Prince Leo would give her a piece of his mind along with Crown prince Xander. Maybe Lady Camilla would fuss over her sister enough to ban her from getting out of the Deep Realms for a while.

That would be nice.

* * *

Elise sulked in her room, gently stroking her baby bunny's ears (Now called 'Millet') and absentmindedly looking out the window. Takumi- _the big jerk_ \- had told Leo what had happened in the forest, and Leo had told Xander, and Xander told Camilla and Corrin, not before he gave her a good tongue lashing about the dangers of sneaking out to the forest and getting in the line of sight of an arrow, and _grounded_ her. Camilla had been a bit more lenient than her siblings, but never let her get out of her sight, barring her to Lilith's Deep Realm every time they had to march or go to battle.

"Ugh…"

She hadn't talked much with Takumi now, two weeks straight of simply turning up her nose to him and he doing basically the same to her. Corrin and Sakura had asked what was wrong with them, they looked in...somewhat friendly terms with each other before the event, Corrin mentioning in private that she had seen Takumi read with her a couple of times, even.

"I won't talk to him if he keeps hunting cute, tiny baby animals!"

And she didn't, not a word, not a single glance. Thought now she missed him, because he was fun to be around when he wanted to. And her tea parties were so, so dull without company Elise didn't even bothered with them anymore.

"He's a jerk…"

"Who's a jerk?"

The Nohrian princess turned around quickly, only to see Corrin standing at the door. She offered a tentative smile to her older sister and carefully took Millet in her hands, leaving him in the nest of pillows and plushies she had made for him that evening on her bed.

"Hey Corrin!"

"Hey yourself, Elise." The young woman smiled, red eyes twinkling just slightly. "May I come in?"

"Of course you can, silly!"

Corrin nodded, then carefully stepped inside Elise's room, sitting at the end of the bed and gently scratching Elise's pet on its tiny head. "He's pretty cute."

"Isn't he?" She smiled, looking fondly at her pet bunny. "I love him."

"Its pretty young too." Corrin mumbled, looking at Elise for a few seconds before speaking. "Are you and Takumi on speaking terms?"

Elise pouted, then shook her head furiously. "No! Not as long as he keeps looking at baby animals as food!"

"Oh, but he doesn't."

The younger girl crossed her arms, staring at her sister while trying to look stern. "Yes, he does! He tried to shoot my bunny and make him dinner!"

She can still see clearly her poor, small bunny shaking like a leaf between those bushes, Takumi just seconds away from impaling the poor creature with one of his arrows.

Corrin sighed, trying to find the right words to say to end that small feud between her siblings, honestly, it was silly!

"No, no… Listen, can you do me a favor?"

"Huh?"

"Talk to Takumi, and ask him if he really wanted to hunt for the bunny."

"No way! I'm not talking to him ever again! I know he wanted Millet for dinner!"

The black haired woman stifled a small laugh at the word play, but hid it as a soft cough. Shaking her head, Corrin gently patted Elise's shoulder, smiling a little at her. "Just ask him, please? For me? You're free to keep talking to him or ignore him after that, but just this once."

Elise crossed her arms and pouted, looking at her pet for a few seconds before looking back at Corrin.

"Hmmm…"

"Please?"

Elise sighed, uncrossed her arms and gave a small, quiet nod. Corrin smiled at her and gently squeezed Elise's shoulder. "Thanks Elise."

"Can you look after Millet while I go talk to him?"

"Sure."

"Okay, thank you! I'll be...right back."

Corrin nodded at her and watched as her youngest sister walked (sulked?) out of the room, feeling that the whole ordeal would be fixed by noon, hopefully.

* * *

Takumi stepped out of the kitchen after washing his hands off blood, having delivered a just skinned deer to Peri. He tried not to shudder at the memory of the psychotic woman commenting how much a skinned deer looked like a skinned human body. How would she know that anyway?

"Just… disturbing."

The prince sighed, swiftly going back to the main castle of the Deep Realm with every intention of taking a quick shower and a short nap, he felt tired beyond reason.

"Takumi!"

He froze, just for half a second before an annoyed look overtook his features. He looked back to see Elise running towards him, determination on her face along with some reluctance. She came to a halt as soon as she was in speaking distance.

"Elise."

"I wanted to talk to you."

Takumi frowned, not in the mood for small talk with the Nohrian princess. "Great, I don't."

"Too bad."

She latched onto him, forcefully, or as much as she could with her stature and small weight. "I want to talk to you about...the other day."

Being two weeks, maybe three, since they had last talked to each other, the Hoshidan prince had an idea about what 'other day' she was referring to. His frown was even deeper as he peered down to the blonde girl latched on his arm. "Oh? I thought that you didn't wanted to talk to a 'big baby animal killer'"

He sounded petty to his own ears, but that couldn't be helped now.

"About that!" Elise exclaimed, slowly letting go of his arm. She mumbled a few words, not sure how to phrase her question now that she got to it.

"Well?"

"...Did...Did you really wanted to kill Millet in the forest?"

"What?"

"Millet, the bunny. Did you really wanted him for a meal?"

Takumi blinked, his frown softening just slightly. So she called the thing 'Millet'? It seemed… fitting, somewhat.

"Well, did you…?"

"No, no I didn't wanted to."

"B-But you were going to hunt it! A baby bunny!"

"I didn't know it was just a baby!" Takumi exclaimed, finally telling his part of the story. "I was following _a big rabbit_ , not a bunny, to bring to camp. Hunters don't go after pups or carrying animals."

"...T-They don't?"

Takumi shook his head, remembering the time Hinoka and Sakura asked him the same questions once they knew about him going to hunts. "No. Well...some of them do, but it's frowned upon to do so."

"...Do you do it? T-The baby ones…?"

"No, If I find a mother or her babies I turn away and go to find other animals."

Elise stood quiet, much too quiet for a few moments before shifting from foot to foot. "B-But the ones you hunt…"

"It's nature, Elise." Takumi answered quickly, his frown barely touching his features now, instead, a calm neutrality being shown. "We hunt to eat, just like others animals do. The difference is that we have a code of what to hunt and what to let go."

The princess crossed her arms, making a small, disgruntled sound with her throat before bobbing her head up and down slightly as a positive.

"B-But...if I hadn't come along, you would have killed Millet!"

He grimaced, as annoyed as he was with Elise for showing up like that, she most likely saved the small furry creature's life.

"I...I would have. I didn't know it was hiding there instead of that rabbit."

"And what then? What would you have done if I hadn't showed up?"

Takumi sighed. "I would have took the shot."

"You would have killed him!"

The Hoshidan gave a small, pained nod. "Yes, and I would have buried it."

Elise opened her mouth to give a rant, but instead a small, confused noise came out. "You...what?"

"Some hunters make the mistake of hunting stray pups or pregnant animals. Taking them for meal is...not good. We bury them, at least, I do."

The blonde princess faltered just slightly, blinking a couple of times as her mouth formed a perfect 'o' in surprise. Takumi gave a short sigh and turned around, ready to walk away from the Nohrian royalty before small hands took his own.

"Wait!"

"I thought you didn't wanted to talk to me again?"

"I just…" Elise mumbled, color going to her cheeks in embarrassment. "I just… I'm sorry I said all that stuff about you back in the forest." She finally said, straightening her back and looking at Takumi's face as she spoke. "You're not a big jerk, or big, baby animal killer. I was dumb."

The Hoshidan looked at her for a few moment, his face between a scowl and a neutral expression until he gave a small breath. He couldn't really stay mad over something even his own sisters spoke about years ago. Some people were like that, and, at least, Elise had apologized and actually bothered to ask him about it.

"It's...alright. At least you understand now." He mumbled.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Not...mad, but you're not exactly one of my favorite people in camp at the very moment."

Elise puffed out her cheeks, nodding once. "I understand! I will work hard for us to be friends again. Let's have a tea party tomorrow!"

And there she sent, again with her small tea parties.

"I can't. We have to march tomorrow."

Elise sighed, pouting just slightly. "Then the day after that! I'll get a cook to bake us a cake! And you can hold Millet as much as you want!"

Takumi gave a sigh, but not the tired, or annoyed one. More like a reluctant, amused one. "Alright, alright, the day after that. But no toys, I don't think my pride could survive that in public."

"Okay!"

"Good, thanks."

"...Takumi?"

"Hm?"

"Do you still want to be friends…?"

He sighed, and gently put his hand on Elise's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before pulling away. He wouldn't say it out loud, but... "...What do you think?"

Elise frowned for a bit, looking intensely at Takumi's face. Then suddenly, slowly, the corners of his lips pulled up slightly in a small, quick smile. Elise smiled back, faster and longer, and was still smiling when she got back to her room, Corrin reading a book, seated near the window while Millet slept on her lap.

The black haired woman gave a small smile, asking with a look if everything went okay.

Elise beamed back.


	4. Her Sniper in shinning armor

**Ughgh. For some reason I feel as if this is a good piece of work, but at the same time I feel like it was...rushed, somehow. I don't know how to explain it, in all honest. Maybe I will come back later and edit this OneShot as I see fit. Oh well.**

 **A huge thanks to everyone who left reviews, faves and follows! Especially to those who gave me suggestions for OneShots! I might not use all ideas but trust me, some of them will get wiggle room sooner or later!**

 **Ah yes, the disclamer. You know the drill, I don't own any single thing here but the fic itself.**

* * *

She stifled a gasp of delight as best as she could, plans rushing through her blonde little head as the corner of her lips twitched, breaking into a smile that grew bigger with every passing second.

"Oh my…"

"P-Please-"

" _Gosh!"_

Elise squealed, right into Sakura's ear as the news settled in. The red haired girl blushed in embarrassment and tried to get Elise's attention while stammering nonsense, begging to the other girl to please be quiet. The blonde giggled, bouncing on the ball of her feet as a huge smile split her face.

"I can't believe-"

"P-Please, not so loud!"

"-That you like Leo!"

The demure princess groaned into her hands, blushing to the tip of her ears as she mumbled something inaudible.

"How did it happen? When did you notice?! You have to tell me!"

Elise beamed, sitting on her bed, bouncing for a second and patting the empty spot next to her. Sakura slowly moved forwards, sitting on the bed just as slowly as she sunk on the mattress, still not used to Nohrian beds. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it slightly.

"Well?"

"I-I think it began b-back in Izuno…" Sakura whispered, slowly bringing her hands together around the pillow and looking at some spot in the carpet, her face almost as red as her hair. "W-When Zola dragged me into the castle I-I thought I was going to die…"

"..."

"But t-then...it was so fast, and I felt like I couldn't breathe when a t-tree appeared from nowhere. I-I know it was magic-induced, but it was so pretty, I-I could just look at the leaves and didn't even notice Zola's… screams… and then Prince Leo came forwards and I…"

"And you fell for him!"

"Oh, I'm...I'm not sure about falling! I-It's one silly crush! H-he just looked so...so dashing, and brave when he stepped forwards and took care of the situation…" The Hoshidan princess mumbled with the hint of a dreamy smile, hugging the pillow just a bit tighter against her. "I-It's silly, but I felt like in s-some fairytale, with him being a knight in shiny armor c-coming to rescue me…"

Elise squealed again, kicking her feet in the air as Sakura hid her face on the pillow, also squealing into it. Something like "It's so embarrassing!" Came out muffled.

"It's so cute! Are you going to tell him?"

"N-No! I c-couldn't possibly-!" The other girl fumbled, looking at Elise as if she had grown a second head. "I-It's just a crush! I-It will go away! And I d-don't want him to know…"

"Aaw… but what if he likes you too?"

"I don't know…"

Elise made a "harrumph" and tilted her head to the side at the same time she crossed her arms. "Maybe I could convince him to spend some time with you…"

"P-Please don't! I can deal with this myself!"

Be it because of tiredness, or just because she decided not to tease her friend, Elise gave a slow nod, sighing softly before she stretched on her bed, lying on her back." Okay, okay. I won't tell! But you should talk to him!"

"I-I'll see what I can do…"

Slowly, hesitant, Sakura laid next to Elise, looking at the ceiling as minutes ticked by. Her face going to a more pale pink instead of that rosy red that covered her cheeks. "If I m-may ask…"

"Hm?"

"I-is there someone you like?"

"Oh, that's silly! I like everyone!"

"N-No, I meant as in...crushing on s-someone…"

"Oh... Ooooh! Hmm…" Elise thought about it, she got fine with pretty much everyone, but to the point of having a crush? She couldn't really think about it… She guessed the closest thing was Silas, but he was like an older brother to her, even more so when he started to follow Corrin along like a puppy. It was cute, like another fairytale. A knight and his princess. "Hmm...Nope! Not that I can think of."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. Everyone is a friend! Or sibling, or like one!" She smiled, turning her face to look at Sakura. "Though…"

"Huh?"

"I don't know, I think I don't like anyone yet, but...it would be nice. I mean, I wouldn't mind having a knight in shiny armor rescue me and sweep me off my feet!"

It was a lighthearted jape that got Sakura covering her face with her hands.

"D-Don't tease me! I-I'll probably dream about it now!"

"Oooh, imagine Leo literally sweeping you off your feet and into his arms! Maybe riding together!"

Sakura gave a squeal, taking the pillow and squealing into it, muffling whatever words she had said before lightly throwing it to Elise, who laughed as it hit her.

"D-Don't say that!"

"Sorry, sorry!" She smiled, then her lips quivered just slightly before pearls of laughter escaped her. The Hoshidan princess joining soon in the giggles, still a blushing and smiling mess.

The doorknob wobbled for a bit before making a soft clicking sound, Camilla quietly stepped inside the room, looking fondly at the scene. "Hey you two." She greeted with a smile. The younger princesses giggled a bit more before looking at her. "It's time to sleep darlings. Lady Sakura, your brother Ryoma has been looking you."

"O-Oh, thanks, Lady Camilla."

"Haha, you're so cute. You can call me Camilla, dear."

"T-Thank you, L- C-Camilla."

The older woman giggled softly. Sakura got up from the bed, bidding Elise goodnight and stepping out of the room. Camilla gave her a kind smile before looking at her youngest sister.

"Sleep well, Elise dear."

"Goodnight, big sis Camilla!"

It wasn't even half an hour before all the oil lamps flickered off for the night.

* * *

Something tickled her nose.

It was faint, but very, very cold. Cold enough to wake her up with a shiver and a soft sneeze. Elise realized with a start that she was no longer in her room, but outside the castle. Snow covering the field and falling from the sky in soft, fluffy flakes.

"W-What? Why is my bed outside? Why is it snowing?"

Elise pouted, feeling angry for just a few seconds before sneezing, small tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"I-Is this someone's idea of a prank? It isn't funny! You're really mean!"

Grabbing her blanket, Elise got out of the bed, shivering violently as her feet touched the snow. She gave yet another sneeze before quickly going towards the castle, determined to give whoever moved her bed out of her room a big piece of her mind.

"Xander! Someone moved my bed outsi… o-outside…"

She stopped short as soon as she opened the castle doors, because this castle wasn't Corrin's. Not on the inside, because it was colored white and soft yellows and blue and it wasn't brick that served as walls, but wood and some other material she couldn't describe.

"G-Guys? Hello?"

Hesitant, Elise gave small steps towards the center of the room and stared, feeling unnerved with every passing second as she stood there, alone. Where was everyone?

"Wha… What's going on…?"

A shrill, high pitched laugh made her freeze. It boomed in the room and made the hair on her neck stand on end while hearing it. The princess whimpered softly, afraid to turn around and see check whatever it was that gave such unnerving cackle.

Taking a deep breath, Elise gave brisk, quick steps forwards, willing herself not to look behind and going back to the castle's doors. Her grip on the blanket grew tighter, knuckles going slightly white as she broke in a small run, feeling as if something was running behind her.

"Don't look, don't look, don't look, _dontlookdontlookdontlook_ -"

Another shrill cackle boomed right on her ears, a bony, claw like hand snatching her from the collar of her nightgown and blanket and pulling her back with force. Making her miss her steps and fall onto something cold and bony.

A very, very bony excuse for a man stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes. Clothes ragged and wet clung to his inhuman frame as he towered over her. His limbs were uneven, some short and others too long, reminding her of a spider until his neck stretched with sickening pops.

For a moment, just a split second, she thought she recognized the thing as a man who once had talked with her father, but whatever memory she had was cut short as the thing cackled and fireballs formed at his sides, burning uncomfortably hot.

"I̢͟͡.́͢.̴̛.̢ẃ-̴͠w̵o̧̨n͟'̴̧t ̶d҉͝i̵ę̷̸.͠..w͡-̸̶ẃ̷̛i̸͜t̶h̡̨͘ ͢͞a ͠hO̴̡S̨T҉̶Ą͘Ǵ̕E̕̕͟!"

Elise screamed, kicking and punching while trying to get away from the grip that kept her in place as tears sprung from her eyes. She heard a soft _'riiiip'_ just as she stumbled forwards, falling on her knees and wasting no time to run back to the doors. The blanket lying torn up on the floor.

" _H-Help!_ "

Something caressed her cheek along with a small breeze, feeling electricity kiss her damp cheek before it flew behind her. The thing gave a screech of pain and Elise dared to turn her head, only to see an arrow embedded on the monster's chest before she crashed on something soft.

An arm held her close to a body, and Elise almost cried in relief at seeing Takumi's face when looking up. She was just so happy to finally see a familiar face since she woke up, forgetting just for a moment that a monster was right at her heels.

"T-Takumi! W-What's going on?! Where is everyone?!"

The Hoshidan made it to speak, but stopped himself and instead pushed Elise behind him, standing protectively in front of her as he held Fujin Yumi. The princess peered from behind her savior to look at the thing as it got up, awkwardly standing on his hands and legs like a spider and crawling towards them at an alarming fast speed.

She sucked in a breath, Takumi getting in a fighting stance as he held his bow and pulling back an invisible string. Electricity crackled from his fingers, forming an arrow out of thin air and wasting no time in firing. The arrow grew in size in midair and embedded itself in the monster's face, who screamed in agony, thrashing wildly before clawing at its face and hissing.

"Damn thing…"

Elise gave a quiet whimper, then screamed loudly and held on tight as the thing's neck stretched towards them, mouth agape. The Nohrian closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the worse to happen. However, nothing reached her except for a pair of arms that lifted her up and a sudden movement that made her feel like they were in a free fall.

"Are you alright?"

Slowly, hesitant, the blonde girl opened her eyes wide, only to see Takumi's eyes peering at her. She didn't notice how tightly she was holding onto him, nor how he seemed okay with carrying her. His bow on his back as they stood still on the field.

"Where...Where is thing? W-What's going on?"

"It's dead, don't worry. You won't see it again."

The young man gave a sigh and slowly, very slowly started to smile. And just as slowly Elise felt much better than just a couple of seconds ago.

"You saved me…"

"I'm glad you're alright."

She made it to move slightly, but Takumi held on tighter to her and very gently pecked her forehead, Elise fumbled with her words.

"E-Eh?! Takumi?!"

"I'm so, so glad I made it on time…"

She felt her breath cut short, heat going to her face as she looked at Takumi's face. Why was he looking at her like that? What was he doing in the first place? Where was his snark? His stubbornness? He looked at her with relieved eyes and a gently smile that made her feel like everything was alright in the small world they were in.

"I don't know what I would've done if you…"

"T-Takumi…"

And she could feel his breath close to her, it was warm, making a nice contrast to the cold of the snow she had felt. Her heart skipped a beat and without thinking she lifted her head just slightly, and for just a second she could feel the ghost of his lips on hers…

…

….

* * *

"Bwhu?!"

She woke up with a start, a mouthful of hair getting her as she coughed it out. The princess felt her face flushed beyond control as she looked around in a panic. Her bed was still in her room, there was no annoying cold seeping from the floor and walls and no snow outside, it was sunny, like spring.

"W...Wha…"

She blinked more than just a few times, checking around the room and out the corridor. Everything was clear, she could see Felicia and Jakob walking down to the hall and Mozu making her way downstairs.

"It...It was a dream…" She mumbled quietly. "Just a very odd dream..."

A very odd dream indeed, of her being a damsel in distress and Takumi being her knight in shining armour.

Confused, heat still around her face and ghost feeling of a touch on her lips, Elise went back to her room, slowly getting dressed for the day.

* * *

"E-Elise?"

"Buh?"

"Are you… alright? You seem distracted this morning."

Elise gave a slow nod, not wanting her friend to catch on about her situation. That dream had been so weird!

"I-If you say so…"

Sakura watched the blonde princess fumbling for a bit and absentmindedly begun to walk ahead, bumping into Takumi with a far away look on her eyes, had she even noticed him, in the first place?

"H-Hey, watch it!"

"Bwu...S-Sorry!"

"Elise. You have to look where you're walking to...Hey, are you alright? You look...odd."

"N...Nothing." She said, looking at Takumi's face and remembering how gentle his eyes seemed in her dream. The way they softened slightly made her stare. "I just...had a weird dream."

"Hm…"

Sakura quickly came to Elise's side, taking the girl's arm and bidding her brother a good morning before quickly taking the Nohrian princess away with her, almost as if trying to escape the castle in a hurry.

Takumi looked at the pair of girl clumsily making their way out of the castle, Elise turning her head to look at him or a spot behind him as Sakura guided her towards the gardens. The Hoshidan looked behind him just as Leo and Camilla entered the room, then looked back again to see Sakura trying to walk away even faster, Elise's eyes never leaving him until they disappeared in a corner.

"Those two are acting odd this morning…"

He shrugged it off as nothing, and went back to the training grounds.


	5. Star-crossed Lovers

**Oh gosh I'm so sorry for that dissapereance ;; Never meant to cut away from this like that. Stuff happened and inspiration was running low these past days...uh, weeks.**

 **This is so short and I'm also sorry for that too, but it's better than nothing? ;;**

 **A disclamer that I don't own fire emblem goes here, most likely, there you go.**

* * *

They were being serious about it, about _them_ in general. No one had wanted to tell first, fearing what the others, what their siblings would think of such relationship between direct royals of an enemy kingdom.

And they were right.

Ryoma had outright refused such thing.

Takumi's breath hitched just slightly at Ryoma's words, at Hinoka's reluctance and Sakura's surprise. He could do nothing but nod slightly each time his older brother tried to make a point, about how hard it would be to work out, how difficult it would be for the people of each kingdom to accept it.

 _Impossible._

"I'm sorry, Takumi." Ryoma mumbles, gently gripping his younger brother's shoulder. "It just...it just cannot be."

"Takumi…" Hinoka takes a step forwards, very slowly grasping his arm and trying to give a small, pained smile. "This...It sounds pretty...bad, coming from us, we know."

"But it's for the best." Ryoma continues, and the reluctance and sadness in his voice sounds pained and genuine. "Even in alliance...even if the conflict between Hoshido and Nohr comes to an end, it's...it's dangerous."

"Dangerous." He repeats, numb. "Why…"

"The people...not many will agree, not many will accept it." Hinoka tries next, voice wavering slightly. "Many more will outright refuse, will take things into their hands to prevent it from happening, will…"

"Will go as far as to kill...either of you, to prevent it…"

"I...I understand, brother." He nods, and stiffly makes his way out of the room, not before the soft, meek voice of his sister breaks his thoughts.

"U-Um…just…"

And Sakura fumbles, slowly walking towards him and hugging his middle as if she would never see him again.

"Be careful, please."

The quiet mumble is enough to make him nod, gently returning the hug before pulling away from her and the rest of his siblings, walking to a quiet place, near a solitary tree as he thinks on what to do.

He knows what to do.

Takumi sits down, and waits a few moments, maybe an hour or so until Elise finds him, her usual smile subdued to a very small, almost sad one as she walks towards him, sitting next to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

She sighs, and very gently takes his hand. The soft squeeze that follows is soft but firm.

"Did…?"

"No."

Elise's breath quickens, just for a second or maybe less, and she nods. Her own eyes becoming steely for a moment, just like his.

She too knows what happens next, they had talked about it, they made plans, as crazy as it sounds.

"O-oh."

"...Let's do it, then."

The Nohrian princess squirms, eyes focusing on the boy's face, and she's slightly relieved to see a smile, albeit a sad one, on his lips.

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes." He answers, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "I'm sure."

They both nod, and Takumi squeezes her hand back, letting her go as they both go their separate ways.

* * *

It's maybe three in the morning when they meet up again.

The army is fast asleep, and Takumi has made sure to be out of Reina and Niles's view for guard duty, giving a feeble excuse of guarding another part of the fortress, enough time until Elise comes with two bags on her shoulders, very quiet, silent.

Determined.

"I-I…I'm ready"

"Alright, let's..." He mumbles, and gently takes one of the bags- his's- from her, taking her free hand and gently, very gently pulling her with him. Elise doesn't hesitates to follow, still quiet, still in silence, and slowly laced her fingers with his, smiling slightly when he reciprocated the action.

Long steps, still silent. Slow until they are away from Corrin's castle, until they can't see the light of the campfire.

Their steps are lighter, faster as they go, and both; Elise and Takumi, turn back for just a few seconds to bid a silent goodbye to their siblings and friends, thinking back on the single, shared note left by each other's room.

" _A kingdom isn't going to dictate who am I free to love and to be with._

 _I hope you all understand._

 _Takumi / Elise."_

They share silent farewells, well wishes for their siblings before turning away. Their steps grow faster as soon as they exit Lilith's Deep realm, running away from their duty to their kingdoms, running until the sky begins to lighten from dark blues to pale pinks and oranges.

They keep running, hand in hand, sobs and laughter bubbling from their chests as they take the first step to a life together.

* * *

 **Just fyi, I'm probably going to work a loooot more with Elise and Takumi running away from the war and such, probably a continuation of sort for this oneshot or a veeery different one :D**


	6. Ring finger, Right hand

**It's 3:16AM, I am so tired but so full of shipping feels I just...needed to get this chapter out of my chest.**

 **Just a warning that I will be mushy and cliché as hell with these two. Sometimes, most times, every time I get a chance. Just a heads up.**

 **Fire emblem isn't mine and yaddayaddayadda. Here we go!**

* * *

"We gotta go to town!"

Takumi blinked slowly, a frown touching his features as he turned around to look at the hyper active Nohrian princess, who smiled one of her ever present smiles innocently, holding a long piece of paper in her hands.

"...Why?"

"Because we're running out of vegetables for today's dinner, and I wanna buy Leo something nice!" The princess bounced on her heels for a couple of seconds, her pigtails bobbing in the air alongside her.

"Great. Have fun."

The Hoshidan turned away from her, with every intention of ignoring the girl until she went away, however, a soft weight on his back let him know that said girl wasn't going away anytime soon. He gave a long, annoyed sigh when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his chest.

"Pleaaaase? I don't want to go alone! It's so boring, and Xander wouldn't let me go at all…"

"Then why don't you ask him to go with you? Or Lady Camilla, or Corrin? Heck, maybe your retainers?"

"They're all busy!" Elise pouted, Xander and Corrin going over the safest way to reach their next destination, Camilla spending some time with Nina, and Arthur and Effie training together. "So they can't come with me today…"

"Uugh." Takumi covered his face with a hand, groaning. He truly didn't feel like going out today of all days, the quaint little town just half an hour away from the current Deep Realm wasn't exactly something that held his interest.

"Preeetty please? I'll get you something nice, too!"

"You don't need to bribe me." His words came out slightly muffled thanks to his hand, but not slurred enough to be just a jumble of words. The Hoshidan prince gave a sigh and turned his head just slightly, enough to look down at the girl who currently held onto his back, unwilling to let go.

' _She is really spoiled.'_ He thought with a grimace, but bopped Elise's head to make her look up to him. "Fine, just let go of me. I'll go with you to town...could buy some arrows myself, our armory ran out."

"Yay! Thanks Takumi!" She beamed, as if he had promised to accompany her to the promised land instead of going to pick up a few vegetables at the near town. Elise unwrapped her arms from his torso and quickly ran off towards the dinning area, running backwards just for a few seconds as she turned around to look at him.

"Wait here, I'll be right back!"

With a heavy sigh, Takumi sat down on a nearby rock and waited.

* * *

The nearby town was a small, barely noticed place that often served as a rest stop for travelers. Merchants often stopped by to sell their goods to said travelers or anyone who wanted to buy them. Decorating the quaint, warm streets with their shops, greeting everyone with a smile and an offer that not many could refuse.

Elise bounced from place to place, merchants and people in general greeting them with a smile or a 'good day!'. Takumi responded with a small nod to them, while Elise happily smiled or waved back at whoever was near.

"Lucky! We got here right when the merchants arrived!" The princess smiled, feeling a bubble of excitement in her whole body. "They've got so much stuff!"

"Don't go wasting gold though." Takumi warned, looking around the street to see if there was an armory nearby, making a small sound of wonder when he spotted a wooden sign with a sword and shield carven on it, resting on top of a travelling merchant's store. "Just buy the vegetables and the gift for your brother."

"I knooow."

The Nohrian looked around the street for a bit, spotting a couple of merchants selling fruit and vegetables not far off. She quickly made her way over, leaving Takumi to calmly go towards the merchant's weapon storage. He actually had a bit of gold to spare, and buying a couple of arrows, or maybe a hunting bow wouldn't be too much.

"Hello?"

The big, wooden table had a red cloth covering it, barely reaching the dirt road. A selection of weaponry laid on top of it, sharpened blades glinting in the afternoon sun, calling attention to themselves. Next to them laid another table, a white cloth covering whatever was on it.

"Hmm…"

"See anything you like, darling?"

A woman with long red hair appeared from behind an alley, taking a seat at the other side of the weapon covered table and smiling at him. "Got swords from all over the country! And maybe a bit farther than that. Take your pick!"

"Oh, um." The prince looked at the blades, half tempted to buy one but thinking better about it. "Do you have arrows? Or maybe a hunting bow?"

"That I do." The merchant nodded, getting up from her seat and removing the cover from the second table. Bows and Yumi of all sizes lying next to the swords and axes, bundles of arrows standing at the other end of the table. "On top conditions! If you're looking for a hunting bow, may I recommend a Short bow? Perfect for critical shots. Or perhaps a Brave bow? Good design, sturdy, easy to handle."

"Hmm…"

"Or, if you're looking for something more subtle. An Illusory Yumi would do wonders! Neutral colors to camouflage in the forest and pretty sturdy, so it won't break if you put your weight on it."

"Not bad, though I'm more interested in arrows."

"Of course, darling."

The woman pointed at the bundles of arrows on the table, still with a small smile on her face. "Steel arrows are a big sell nowadays. Just sharpened, too. Though if we're talking about hunting, maybe serrated ones would do better."

Takumi winced slightly while seeing the sharp, serrated point of the arrows the woman was talking about. While he guessed they would be good for their purpose, it would be painful for an animal...or person, to be attacked with one. Almost cruel.

"Just the steel ones. How much for a bundle?"

"Six pieces of gold for a bundle of twenty. Eleven pieces of gold and two of silver for two bundles."

"Just one, please."

"Coming right up, love."

The woman grabbed one of the bundles and started checking the sharpness of the points. Takumi meanwhile dug in his pockets for the pieces of gold to pay with, not even flinching when something collided with him from the back.

"I'm back!"

"That was quick."

"Mhmm, I bought only what we needed for tonight, so I didn't took long."

Takumi nodded once, handing the redheaded woman the gold as she handed over the arrows. Carrying the bundle over his shoulders, he was about to step away when Elise walked forwards, holding a bag full of vegetables as she looked over the weapons with interested.

"Interested in anything, love?"

"Do you have tomes?"

"Yep! Just a second."

The woman knelt down near a box, flicking part of her ponytail that fell over her shoulder before pulling out a couple of heavy looking books, all of them with covers of different colors and slightly yellowed pages. That aside, they almost looked brand new.

"I'm afraid these tomes have been around for a bit now, hence the yellowing. However, they haven't been used."

"Hmm, okay!"

Elise carefully took one of the tomes, inspecting it from cover to last page. The woman sat down on one of the sturdiest boxes lying behind the tables as she laid the tomes in Elise's reach, lazily staring at them.

"Hmm...nope, I don't think he'll like this one. Maybe…"

More tomes came by, yet were denied by the girl. All of them returning to the table as a little frown crossed the blonde princess's features. "Hmm."

A particularly large tome held her attention, a dark, purple tome with yellowed pages and just a tad heavy laid at the end of the row. Elise quickly flickered through the pages, blinking in confusion at the odd, foreign symbols covering page after page.

"Wha…"

"That's a _Goetia_ tome." The woman winked, a finger tapping her chin as she thought on what to say next. "It's from a foreign land. Very powerful, if you ask me. But a bit hard to read."

"Hang on, how do we know that it's true?" Elise asked quickly. Takumi raised an eyebrow at her, a bit surprised. "Leo told me that a lot of people sell tomes saying that it's big stuff, but ends up being gibberish."

"Oh, I'll show you!" The redhead winked again as Elise handed over the tome. The merchant opened the book in one of its first pages and muttered an incantation that was definitely in some other tongue. A burst of dark and purple flew from the book, cackling like electricity for a bit before quickly disappearing, a low hum of magic ringing on the merchant and royalty's ears.

"I guess, I'm a bit rusty at this. But this will suffice, no?"

"Y-Yeah! How much for it?"

"Fifty pieces of gold."

"Sold!"

* * *

Elise happily skipped in the streets, the bag of vegetables in her grip, alongside the tome of dark magic she had just bought. Takumi tagged along just slightly behind, the bundle of arrows on his back as they made their way out of the town. It had taken them next to nothing to get what they wanted, but not the same could be said about the villagers; People came and went in the dirt road, merchants, even more than before, offered their products with boisterous voices and smiles, people bumping into each other to get to them or get away.

"I guess this is a peak hour…"

"Guess so! A lot of people are coming out of their houses to buy things!"

"Mhmm."

"Ooh, look! That merchant over there is selling accessories!"

"Wha- Oooh no, no. We already got what we came here for, we're leaving now."

"Aw, c'mon! Just a tiny look! Please?"

Takumi gave a long sigh that Elise decided to take as a positive. Happily skipping towards the old merchant's stand, the princess practically danced around people to get in front of the man's tiny shop; Rings, bracelets and pendants gleaming in the sun, ribbons and silk scarves carefully laid on top of a white cloth.

"Anything you're interested in, miss?"

"Still looking!" Elise answered with a smile, eyes traveling back and forth between pendants and rings, chains that gleamed gold or silver as the sun hit them, designs of craved roses or stars making her giddy and indecisive.

"They all are so pretty…"

"H-Hey! I didn't say yes! We're going right now, or I'll just leave without you."

Takumi huffed as soon as he stepped near Elise's side, arms crossed over his chest as the younger girl looked at him with a small smile, almost begging him with her eyes for just five more minutes.

"But...but look! The designs are so pretty! I just…"

"Elise, I'm pretty sure you have more accessories than you can use back at the c- back at home."

The blonde girl pouted, eyes slowly going to a pretty ring with a rose carved at the top. What Takumi said might or might have not been true, but…

"But...But Takumi…" She pouted, lower lip quivering just slightly and lilac eyes growing wide. "Pleeeease?"

Takumi sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't wanted to deal with one of Elise's _puppy eyes._ Not right now. The Hoshidan prince stood still for a moment before giving another exasperated sigh that Elise once again took as a positive, her smile just as bright as her eyes as she turned her head to look again at the many accessories on sale.

The small, golden ring on top of a red pin cushion was lovely; shiny to the point of being luminescent on its own, small vines were carved on the sides along with very small, clear crystals at the center of them, a rose in bloom was carved on top of the ring, the biggest crystal embedded in the right on top of the flower, gleaming brightly as the sun hit it.

"How much for that ring?"

The old man looked at the ring in question, nodding his head in approval at Elise's choice. "Ten pieces of gold for that one."

Elise perked up, it was so cheap! The girl quickly got her bag and rummaged through it, being careful with the gift for her brother and groceries for that night's dinner while looking for the needed gold for her new ring.

The petite Nohrian's smile dimmed slightly, soon pulling itself to a frown and a bit of a panicked stare. She was sure there was some gold left! The groceries were done, not too expensive, and the tome…

... _Oh._

Elise realized with a pout that the _Goetia_ tome had taken most- _all_ of her spare gold. Fifty pieces that she hadn't realized was the only thing she had with her for personal use.

"Uh...I don't have the gold for it, nevermind." Elise smiled sadly, a bit of a pout in her expression as the old man gave her a small smile in understanding. She gave the small, flowery ring a last, longing glance before sighing, shifting the things she had already gotten in order before turning around, ready to leave.

"Ah, we can go now! Sorry about making you wai...Takumi?"

Takumi was not standing by her side. She tried looking a bit in the distance to see if she could catch a glimpse of her companion before the sound of clinking metal caught her attention. Elise quickly turned her head to look at Takumi, who was standing in front of the little stand and pulling out a few golden coins out of his bag, a resigned expression on his face.

"H...huh?"

The older boy quickly passed the gold to the old man's hands, who gave a smile and a nod in return as Takumi, surprisingly, took the ring she had been wanting in his hand.

"Wha…"

"Listen, I know you'll probably mope about it if you hadn't gotten it." Takumi mumbled, expression between neutrality, exasperation and resignation. "So just take it."

"What?! Oh, but Takumi! You didn't had to buy it!" Elise exclaimed, surprise and maybe just a bit of guilt washing over her. Did Takumi really think that she would mope about getting the ring? Did she really looked that...spoiled? _Ouch_. "Really!"

"Too late for that now." Takumi sighed, holding the ring between his thumb and index finger and barely glancing at it as it gleamed under the sunlight. "And I _know_ you would mope, don't deny it, Elise."

"Would not!"

The Hoshidan simply raised an eyebrow and Elise huffed, looking aside for just a few seconds. Really, she wasn't _that_ spoiled.

"Anyway, just take it."

"But…"

"It's already payed for, and I'm not going to wear it."

Elise frowned slightly, and Takumi rolled his eyes before walking towards her.

"Just take it! Geez, here…"

Maybe it was just a slip, slight annoyance covering up most of the mood, but neither of them truly realized what was happening until a few seconds later.

Takumi had grabbed Elise's right hand like any proper royal member would do to a lady, and had, rather carefully, put the ring on her ring finger. Elise's only reaction was to stare at the pretty ring she had fancied in something akin to newfound awe, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"Oh, fits perfectly…"

"It does..."

Seconds ticked by, both pair of eyes taking in the ring's design until their joined hands finally called to attention. It took them one more second to realize what had just happened.

He had put a ring on her, on her _ring finger_ , her _right hand_. And Takumi was currently still holding her hand, eyes wide in a expression of surprise.

Elise couldn't help but feel both surprised and just a tad confused. The romantic little girl in her making her realize just how… out of place, how fairytale like the moment was; A prince had put on her a ring that fit perfectly on her finger. Had bought it himself, and even if the action had been mostly out of aggravation, it was still… oddly confusing, romantic almost.

Almost.

Takumi gently let go of her hand, clearing his throat and acting as if that little moment had never happened. Things going awkward was the last thing he wanted.

"Uh, y-yeah… it's yours now."

"Ah, uh. I can pay you back when we get to…"

"No, there's no need." He grumbled, shooting a glare at the old man who was staring at them, chuckling softly before turning back to move some jewelry around. "Just...uh, use it. Don't leave it around and...just wear it."

"Yes!" Elise exclaimed happily, surprise at what had just happened turning to her usual cheer with just a tiny bit of force in there. "Yes, I will! Thanks, Takumi!"

Takumi sighed, a small smile on his lips before he turned around. "You're welcome. Let's just get back to the others, I'm tired."

"Mhmm! Sure!"

The walk back to the portal to the Deep Realm was in relative peace and quiet, Takumi taking Elise's back in the middle of the road while she happily skipped ahead with the Goetia tome against her chest.

Sunlight hit her new ring, the tiny crystals sparkling as the sun kissed it goodbye over the horizon as it left a wake of orange and purple hues in the sky.

Elise absentmindedly thought that, when sparkling, the ring looked fairly alike to a wedding ring she had seen once in Nohr, and she almost tripped when the traitorous thought of wedding rings and Takumi holding her hand while putting on the perfect ring on her finger crossed her mind.

She could already feel her face warm, the ring suddenly feeling heavy in a good way, the thought taunting her in a way she couldn't fully understand until she pushed it aside, forcefully thinking about what there could be for dinner and thankful that Takumi couldn't see her face nor read her thoughts.

It was a pretty ring, and Takumi had given it to her, and she would wear it everyday.

* * *

 **If you're still out of the loop, when giving the ring to the pride, one has to put it on the ring finger of her right hand : Silly little info that kept getting in my Elise/Takumi ideas.**


	7. Meeting Kiragi

**I haven't had the chance to fix all grammar mistakes, both in this and last chapters. English isn't my first language so I can't really pin point them? It's actually very frustrating.**

 **Also, I HATE the baby realm bs. Honestly, what kind of cheap plot is that? Throw your baby into the void and let them come back as teens/young adults? Pfff, seriously. Awakening's reasoning is so much better...**

 **And that's why I'm using that idea with this drabble TBH c:**

 **Fire emblem isn't mine and yadda yadda.**

* * *

To say that Takumi was confused was an understatement.

No, scratch that, Takumi was utterly surprised, horrified, embarrassed, all of it thrown together in a cocktail of emotions that came out as confusion.

The little boy in front of him had to be _lying_.

He had come from the middle of the battlefield, literally appearing out of nowhere in a flurry of arrows and water. Takumi had been grateful about the unexpected ally that came to his aid as Vallite soldiers had surrounded him. He didn't know how long he would have hold out until help came.

And then the archer boy had literally _roared_ and shot arrow behind arrow straight at the soldier's heads and necks, and Takumi would have gladly thanked him, had it not been for the boy all but barraging towards him and throwing him to the ground in a chokehold that the little archer had called a hug later.

He wouldn't have thought about it, until the boy loudly called him _father_.

The exact words being "Father! I'm so glad I made it on time!"

And that was the exact point Takumi's brain decided to just pause and rewind.

He was still on the ground, arrows scattered all around then and a kid, no older than twelve squeezing the life out of him and calling nonsense in one deep breath.

"Ack, get off!" Takumi managed to wheeze, breathing deeply once the weight on his chest lessened and disappeared completely. The little boy sat right in front of him, on his own knees and smiling as bright as the sun, as if seeing him was the best thing to happen in his life.

What an odd kid.

"I'm not your father." Takumi grumbled, rotating his shoulders and trying to shake off the pain of blunt weapons hitting his middle. "What are you doing here? This is a battlefield! Where are your parents?"

The boy smiled, humour in his eyes that, for some reason, reminded Takumi of someone else. "Well, obviously! I mean, you're not my father _yet_. And, um, I just had to come! Seriously, what kind of son would I be if I didn't help my dad? Mom would have a heart attack if she knew what almost happened here!"

"Kid, I can't be more than five or six years older than you!" Takumi barked, hastily getting up from the ground. "Did you hit your head? Maybe you've suffered from a concussion and are...very, very confused."

The boy pouted, and the action was, once again, familiar to the Sniper. Could the kid be related to anyone in the army? It could be possible.

"I'm not confused, you're my father!" He huffed, getting up to his full height that couldn't be taller than Takumi's chest. "And I can prove it!"

Before Takumi could even protest, the strange kid had hoisted his bow, pulled at an invisible string that after a second crackled with electricity, a bright arrow appearing from thin air in the perfect position to fire.

Takumi froze, eyes on the bow the kid was holding, and his own bow seemingly burning on his back. "I-Is that…"

"Fujin Yumi." The boy answered, smile still present, albeit now sad. The arrow dissipated just like the string, leaving the bow behind. "You gave it to me before...um…"

There weren't two of a kind,it was impossible to copy the legendary bow. Takumi felt his own weapon weighing heavily on him. "How is that…?"

"I'm your son, Kiragi, from the future." The boy explained, he seemed to have an ever present smile, no matter what was happening around him. "I came back to the past to help."

"...How?"

"Oh, um, Well, I'm a good archer, and I know a bit of magic and…"

"No, no, I mean," Takumi broke off, still being unable to tear his eyes from the boy- Kiragi - or the bow on his back. "How is that...possible?"

Kiragi frowned, thinking. "Um, I...wasn't paying much attention to what grandmother was saying…" He mumbled, trailing off just slightly. "I think Forrest would be better to explain."

"F-Forrest?"

"My cousin! And your nephew, of course!" Kiragi smiled again, and suddenly, the little boy side stepped him, looking at something behind him. "Hey, your friends are coming! I think that's aunt Corrin!"

Takumi had literally just enough time to turn around before someone barraged into him. The taller figure of Corrin hugging him tightly before hurriedly checking over him.

"Oh gods, Takumi. I'm so, so sorry! I didn't see any of the soldiers going your way, and with the Wyverns falling over left and right I didn't even- oh my gods, I'm so sorry!"

"Corrin!" Takumi grunted, pushing away from the coddling of his older sister. "I'm fine!"

"But- Oh, wait, let Elise and Sakura take a look at you, and- who's this?"

Kiragi, who Takumi had noticed perked up, was looking over at Corrin.

"Hi!"

"Oh, um, hello there." Corrin greeted back, her ruby eyes going over the kid to his weapon, and in understanding, she stared at Takumi in silent shock.

"I-Is that Fujin…?"

"What? Oh, yeah! Yeah it is! Um, I guess I'm the first one to arrive, aren't I?" At the confused looks the young adults shot at each other, Kiragi nodded. "Right, seems like it. Uh, I think it will be easier to explain when everybody is around."

"What?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it, aunt Corrin!"

" _Aunt?_ "

Corrin's confused expression lasted long until part of the army arrived at the scene, Hinoka practically leaping away from her pegasus in her haste to reach her little brother, checking on him much like Corrin had done.

Takumi, for his part, was carefully stepping away from more coddling coming from his eldest sister, and had it not been from a lucky turn of his head, he would have missed the absolute surprise and delight on the younger boy's face before he scampered towards the army.

Corrin had barely half shouted a 'wait' before Kiragi barreled into Elise. The petite healer squealing in surprise and letting her staff fall to the grass as the boy hugged her, almost lifting her feet off the ground in his loud celebration.

"Mother! You're here, too!"

He had called her mother.

Elise, _mother._

It was in _that_ moment when Takumi's brain decided to ignore all voices yelling that the kid was lying, and just shut off for the rest of the day.

He could later lie and say that him fainting was from a concussion.

* * *

 **Again, I HATE baby realm bs c: Expect a part 2 for this!**

 **And for SailorSnofFlack: Well, I def wrote that drabble with the intention of taking Takumi's line of "Run away together if we have to" from the S support seriously! I'm a bit of a sucker for clichés like those. Can't say if that will be foreshadowing though. Most likely not :x**


	8. Betrothal

**I did say a part 2 to _Meeting Kiragi_ was in order, I just didn't say when : Inspiration is just a very weird thing, so...whoops?**

 **Thank you for all the reviews! Yes, I know that the baby DeepRealm bussiness wasn't much of an incubator of sort, more of a side effect than anything. I guess I'm mostly upset about how the kids were handled? Oh well, a rant for another day. BECAUSE NOW HEY STORY TIME!**

 **This drabble is definitely an AU sort of thing. Valla doesn't exist so neither does Mikoto, Arete, Corrin or Azura. Which means Garon is still a bit of a jerk, though a somewhat good parent and def not possesed. Sumeragi lives on with his children, and betrothal contracts are a thing.**

 **You know the drill, Fire emblem yadda yadda not mine radda radda. Enjoy!**

* * *

The trip to Izumo had taken a bit longer than necessary and it had grated Takumi's nerves greatly. The company of Oboro and Hinata served as a good distraction to all the doubs and worst-case-scenarios his brain was coming up with each minute, the gentle ribs and friendly teasing of his retainers ebbed away most of those thoughts, but the purpose for this trip was echoing in his mind.

He was going to meet his betrothed.

It was for the good of Hoshido, his father had said. It was for peace, his mother told him the same night. Ryoma, Hinoka and Sakura offering kind words of comfort and, in his older sister's case, regret. She would have gladly taken that burden from Takumi's shoulders, had it not been because the king of Nohr had offered a daughter and not a son.

The prince suppressed a shudder. He didn't know much about Nohr nor its ruler. He knew of crown Prince Xander, and the second oldest being Princess Camilla. Hearing about the woman was enough to make the hair at the back of his neck stand on end.

Apparently, it was no secret that as charming as Princess Camilla was, she had a cutting tongue and hidden malice coated in sugary sweet smiles.

Not to mention she was much older than him, almost as old as Ryoma.

If he was going to marry Nohr's princess, the marriage was going to be a disaster sooner than later.

"Lord Takumi." Oboro whispered at his side, gently nudging his shoulder. "We're here."

"Oh." Takumi nodded, the palace in front of him was supposed to be a welcoming sight, neutral in case of war and sanctuary to those who didn't wanted to take a side. But right now, it seemed as if it were a slaughter house.

He could feel Hinata and Oboro bowing behind him, and it took him a second to realize that his father was approaching him.

"It appears that King Garon has already arrived." Sumeragi mumbled, a heavy sigh cutting his words short. "Archduke Izana has been kind enough to offer to witness the event as a neutral force, and...Takumi, are you feeling alright?"

"Y-Yeah, yes father." Takumi nodded, willing his stomach to stop doing uncomfortable flops inside him. "I feel...nervous, but that's to be expected."

"Right." Sumeragi mumbled, gently squeezing his shoulder. "You're very brave, son."

' _No, I'm not."_ He thought bitterly _"I'm scared, I don't know if I can do this, I don't want to. But I have to, there is no choice in the matter.'_

"Thank you, father." The prince nodded, and followed his father at an even pace inside the palace. His retainers following close behind alongside Reina, and Takumi tried his hardest to keep his breathing even.

Archduke Izana's impromptu behaviour and slightly childish mannerism did help his mood a bit, though not as much as to stop second guessing what was going to happen to him. Whatever words were coming from the man's mouth seemed lost in some sort of white noise, like soft thunder ringing in his hears as he walked around the palace.

Oboro whispered something, and Hinata gently tapped his shoulder, pointing at one end of his fancy outfit and making Takumi sigh, slowing down his walk as to not to step on his hakama. The last thing he needed was to make a fool of himself.

"King Garon arrived not too long ago, actually. I've already seated him, though. The poor man looks very sick, I didn't want to pull more strain to his health."

"That's kind of you, Izana. I hope our lateness isn't a problem." Sumeragi spoke, turning around a corner of the palace as Izana went the same direction.

"None! I know many things can happen in the road, such problems are to be expected."

"I see…"

Takumi gave a soft sigh, he had an idea of where they were going, and such room was just a minute away. He would meet the King of Nohr and the princess, his bride to be. And that union would lead to peace between Hoshido and Nohr.

No pressure, right?

"Prince Takumi." Izana spoke, tone jovial and a smile plastered on his face. "I will act as a mediator and translator for you and your father, as King Garon does not speaks Hoshidan fluently."

"Ah, Thank you, Archduke Izana." Really, he didn't know a whole lot of Nohrian either.

"Just Izana will do!"

"A-ah, yes."

Without another word, the eccentric man stepped in front of a room and opened the doors wide. His retainers and Reina stood behind, along with an old looking knight and two younger looking man and woman in iron armor.

What first caught Takumi's eyes what the mountain of a man clad from head to toe in the darkest armor he had ever seen. The coat hanging from his shoulders was probably the only thing that didn't looked as if a simple swing would cut a man in half. Even his crown looked as sharp as any sword.

The next thing was how gray his skin looked. The Nohrian king looked sick, deathly so, with sunken eyes and white hair, and he couldn't exactly blame the archduke about seating him right away.

The next thing, or rather, person that caught his eye, was the girl sitting by the king's side.

She was very obviously Nohrian, with blonde hair and the odd violet strands entwined here and there done in twintails. Wearing a black...dress? It was definitely not a Kimono, or anything that he had seen in Hoshido; The upper part looked like a normal shirt with embroidered roses, yet from her waist down it flowed in ruffles and faint rose-like patterns that covered her down to her ankles, a single white ribbon with a black rose was tied around her neck.

Sumeragi nodded to the king of Nohr, and Takumi sat down next to his father, frowning just slightly. He had thought Nohr had only one princess, but it seemed that he had been mistaken.

The sigh of relief that escaped his lips was, thankfully, unheard by the two kings currently engaging in a three way talk, Izana graciously translating for both men.

However, it definitely caught the girl's attention. Takumi stiffened just slightly when the blonde Nohrian looked at him with shinning, violet eyes, and very, very slowly offered a small smile and a slight movement of her fingers, like a mid wave.

He stared, just for a second, and very slowly returned the gesture, a bit of a surprised look on his features that the girl had the grace to ignore. Her smile did seemed to grow a bit when he returned the very small wave, and Takumi though that, maybe, it wouldn't be too bad to spend time with her.

They sat in silence in front of each other, listening to their father's conversation with only one ear each. Takumi could very well understand what his father was talking about; Asking about what sort of treaty was going to be between Hoshido and Nohr, their needs and what they wanted to seal the deal. He could only make out bit and pieces of what King Garon was saying, his Nohrian being basic at best to distinguish the words _'troops'_ , _'security'_ and _'important.'_

And finally, he could understand the word _'betrothal.'_

Sumeragi nodded, speaking in rapid motions before both Kings turned to the would-be-groom. Takumi had to willing himself to maintain eye contact with King Garon first, give him a deep bow while still sitting, and turning to his father. Izana placidly keep himself in the background, most likely interested in how would things turn out.

"Takumi." His father begun, and he involuntarily stiffened at the tone of voice. "You have been informed that for the good of Hoshido, the union between the Dawn and Dusk dragons was going to be primordial."

"Yes, father."

"As such." The Hoshidan king continued with a nod, gently motioning his head at the blonde girl, who was currently listening to King Garon with rapt attention. "The betrothal between kingdoms is a must."

King Garon got up from his seat, the mountain of a man towering over the petite girl who immediately went to his side, a small smile on her lips.

"Takumi, you have been betrothed to Princess Elise of Nohr." Sumeragi gets up from his seat, and Takumi knows it is his cue to do so, too. He stands still at his father's side, heart beating wildly against his ribs. "She is to be your wife."

Takumi bows, deeply, towards Princess Elise's direction. The curtsy he got back from her was just as deep, yet slightly more fluid. The Nohrian princess's twintails fell behind her back just as her voice, with just the tiniest chirp and a bit of a broken accent, startled him.

" _For a peace...of our lands, I am glad to be with yours, Prince Takumi."_ Her Hoshidan was a bit thick, but with such a soft voice it was difficult not to understand what she had meant, even with the insecure waiver in her voice.

"And I am glad to be with you as well, Princess Elise." He said back. The smile that greeted him once he straightened his posture was of pure content, as if she was the happiest person on the continent with just that little exchange.

Sumeragi looked visibly relaxed, a kind gaze going over him as well as the Nohrian princess. His nod of approval was everything he had to give to make himself understand; It was a point in favor of the Nohrian Princess and the relationship that was to come between groom and bride to be.

"King Garon and I have some matters to discuss." The Hoshidan king explained to his youngest son, who nodded back in response. "You and Princess Elise are to be dismissed. You remember the way to the gardens?"

"Yes father. Should I…?"

"Yes. I think your bride-to-be would appreciate some time together."

King Garon had finished speaking with Princess Elise, he could definitely hear the Nohrian equivalent of _'dismissed'_ and 'until noon'. The girl nodded, giving her father an impromptu hug that Takumi was surprised King Garon returned instead of scolding the girl.

They both made their way to the door, giving a short bow and curtsy to the Kings before stepping out of the room. The sudden silence and crisp atmosphere of the hallway of the palace just made him notice how warm his face felt, and the slight trembling of his fingers.

Princess Elise gave a little giggle, with barely an undertone of nervousness behind it. She turned to him, a bright smile on her face and spoke. Though his understatement in Nohrian language wasn't much, he could definitely understand the question. _'That was something, wasn't it?'_

"Yes, it was." Takumi spoke normally, and he had to suppress a small smile at the look of concentration on his betrothed face. She, too, seemed to struggle with the other's language.

" _Um...No chance sooner, so...it is...Nice?_ " She said, her Hoshidan wobbly and, surprisingly, somewhat endearing. _"Yes, nice! Nice to be meet you!"_

He chuckled, and gave Elise a small smile. Maybe this alliance, this path to peace and...marriage, wouldn't be too bad.

Takumi cleared his throat, and with the tip of his ears still burning, he tried to remember the basic Nohrian he knew.

" _It is nice meeting you, too."_ He said, surprised at how well worded that sounded in his ears. Princess Elise's delighted gasp of surprise definitely made his heart skip a beat with pride, so he kept trying to speak in Nohrian. _"Would you...ah….with me, to castle gardens?"_

His bride-to-be giggled, looking delighted beyond words. Her nervousness completely forgotten, and her accent going soft and clear with her next spoken words _"I'd love to!"_

 _'Yes.'_ Takumi thought as he remembered Nohrian etiquette and offered his arm to his betrothed, who took a hold of it and gave him one of the brightest smiles he had seen on a person _'This could definitely work.'_

* * *

 **I am definitely going to work with some ideas you guys have given me in past reviews, but this little blurb of inspiration struck me hard and fast. I hope you guys liked it!**


	9. Dance Lessons

**This is another short drabble! It's more with the intetion of being cute than anything else, really. Super self indulgent because I secretly like mushy stuff like this and I was kind of in a rush.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys like it!**

* * *

"I like dancing."

Takumi gently lifted his gaze away from the book Elise had lend him. Staring at the Nohrian princess who was currently sitting near the window, kicking her bare legs slightly as she toyed around with a stuffed bear.

"You do?"

"Mhmm!" Elise nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Yeah, it's kind of relaxing. I used to practice Waltz back at the castle."

"What's a Waltz?" Takumi asked, not yet familiar with much of the Nohrian culture. As soon as Elise said 'dancing', his mind had just conjured the traditional shrine dance maidens did back in Hoshido.

Elise mused for a few seconds. "A waltz it's a ballroom dance! Kinda fancy, and you need a partner for it. You dance slowly, though that gets boring."

"Huh" Takumi flipped a page from his book, half listening. "Wait, so you can't have a...waltz...on your own?"

The princess giggled, jumping from her seat and with a flourish, she started twirling around the room, twirling as if an imaginary dance partner held her. "Kinda! You can waltz alone, too! Like I'm doing now!"

She looked...silly, for a lack of a better word. Twirling and holding the air as if there was someone with her.

"Don't step on the floor barefoot." Takumi mumbled, going back to his reading. The rain outside making a good atmosphere for staying inside the castle. He really had to thank his lucky stars for not having to march today. "You'll catch a cold."

Elise frowned slightly, freezing in mid twirl. "But you're barefoot, too."

"Socks."

"Hmph!" With a hop, Elise was back on the fluffy rug that covered most of the room, going straight to the fireplace and adding one more log to the burning embers. "There! Now it's no problem!"

Takumi gave a sigh, but didn't say anything else. The soft pitter patter of rain created a nice background noise for his lecture, and Elise's quiet humming of a tune unknown but soft enough blended in nicely.

It was almost comfortable enough to stay for a while and fall asleep. That is, until Elise, ran over to him and with a bright smile took hold of his sleeves.

"Let's dance!"

Takumi stared at her for a second, confused. "I don't know how to dance." And it applied to both Hoshidan and Nohrian dances, he just didn't do dancing.

That didn't stop Elise, in fact, her smile seemed to get bigger. "That's alright, I'll teach you!"

She pulled at his sleeves, urging him to get up from his seat and take a spot besides her in the impromptu dance floor. Takumi sighed, half tempted to pull back but not wanting to even move from his spot.

"I don't feel like it."

"What? Aw, c'moooon!"

"Elise…"

"Just a quick one! A reeeally tiny one! Please?"

"Ghh…"

"No one will ever know!"

He sighed, forgetting his book for the time being and slowly getting to his feet. Elise cheered happily, throwing her hands in the air with an excited grin.

"Yay!"

"Fine, fine. So, dancing. I don't know anything about _any_ sort of dance."

"That's alright! Waltz is kinda easy when you get the right steps."

The petite nohrian stood in front of him, smiling, her body being almost pressed to his as she invaded his personal space and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Woah, okay. This is _too_ close."

"Waltz is a close dance, duh! The dancers have to be close."

"This close though?"

"Hey, some people are even closer! Now, put your hand in my waist."

Takumi blinked, fingers twitching uncomfortably as the tiniest bit of color went to his ears. " _Excuse me?_ "

Elise rolled her eyes, her free hand taking Takumi's and letting it rest at her side. "Your hand. My waist. That's how you hold your dance partner!"

"I-It's...ugh! Too close! You nohrians are so...so…"

"Touchy feely?"

"...N-Not the word I was going to use, but yes!"

She giggled, clearly amused. Her hand released Takumi's and instead went to his shoulder, her other hand taking his to hold.

"Just gotta hold your partner like this and dance slowly. Oh, away from the seat though."

They took a few steps away, standing in the center of the room and holding each other in silence.

"Now what?"

"Now we dance. The man has to lead the woman in the dance, though."

"I really don't know how to do this."

"That's okay! Just, sway slightly, like this."

They moved slowly and silently, swaying from left to right and so on as the fire crackled behind them. Very, very slowly gravitating around the room as they grew comfortable.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Elise apologized, removing her bare feet from Takumi's toes. "This happens sometimes."

"Even in your lessons?"

"Oh, yeah! My dance partner stepped on my toes a lot! Boots, they hurt."

"Well, I changed my mind about you being barefoot, a steel toed boot doesn't sounds appealing."

The princess giggled, nodding her head in agreement and prompting their makeshift dance to be a bit more faster, a bit more fun. Their movements were less mechanic, more lively and fluid. Takumi cracked a small smile when Elise freed her hand from his shoulder.

"Twirl me, please!"

"Twirl?"

"Hold your hand, no, the other. Yes, hold it up with mine and let go of the other!"

Takumi did so, holding their hands in the air over Elise's head, who giggled happily and gave a small spin on the tip of her toes, her pigtails flying behind her head.

"Like that!"

She held onto his shoulder again, and Takumi hesitantly brought his hand back to Elise's tiny waist. The teengers danced between silence and breathy giggles, twirling and swaying to a melody unheard by everybody.

"Okay, okay! Now, for the end!" Elise smiled, her body swaying much slower than moments ago, taking one step closer to Takumi and looking up to see his face. "We hold on, like this, sway a little, and then part."

Takumi did so, an embarrassed smile on his face. It lasted no longer than a minute before Elise gently pulled away, all but their joined hands apart.

"Now, we stand apart, and bow to each other."

Elise curtsied, taking the hem of her dress with her free hand as Takumi gave a polite, mild bow on his own. Their hands slowly releasing each other until their fingertips were the only thing touching. A second later, they stood apart entirely.

"And that's the basics of a Waltz! Whatcha think?"

Takumi cleared his throat, a small grin on his face. "It's...not so bad."

Elise beamed, a soft squeal of delight on her lips.


	10. Retainer's worry

**Another OneShot of the short kind! I've been feeling super tired lately, and I feel like my fandoms are all over the place, to focusing on one thing to write has been more difficult than usual.**

 **For the chapter...**

 **I hate, HATE Effie's voice in the english version of the game. I loved the soft spoken, brutally strong Effie from the japanese version...** **So yeah, please imagine Effie with her japanese VA instead because I did so while writting this part.**

 **Anyway.**

 **Thank you very much for your reviews, and please, enjoy this chapter!**

 **Fire emblem yadda yadda not mine.**

* * *

Effie isn't sure what to think about Lady Elise's most recent... _friendship_.

She worries, it is her job after all, both as Lady Elise's friend and retainer. It came as second nature to keep her eyes peeled for her friend, taking care of every danger that could even think about getting closer to the little, blonde princess.

And right now, she wasn't sure if Prince Takumi was one of said dangers.

The fact that he was from Hoshido made her weary, the fact that he was a _Hoshidan royal_ was enough to raise red flags over her head. Numerous scenarios ran through Effie's mind as she saw the young man getting closer to Lady Elise, and it took all of her willpower not to stomp her way over and take Lady Elise away from his hands.

She expected horrible things from the hoshidan; Cutting words, hard shoves, manipulation, even murder attempts against her dearest friend. She had seen Lord Xander and prince Ryoma seconds away from coming to blows, the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that gave the illusion of a fight that was about to happen at any given second.

Effie wanted Lady Elise away from all of that. She wanted her to stay innocent and happy and most important, _safe_.

That's why she often took her away from prince Takumi's sight. Because there was no safer place for the smallest princess than at her retainers's sides, where Arthur and her could ward off any danger, away from the youngest royal.

But to Effie's chagrin, Lady Elise was nothing but determined.

Very, _very_ determined. And in this case, it all came around to the youngest Hoshidan prince.

Elise would seek him out, would spend her free time with him either dragging him around camp or just following him like a puppy. She went as far as to sneak out to hang out with the young man, and no amount of scolding could hold her back.

It was worrying, very much so.

Though a new kind of worry began to blossom in Effie's head once she had noticed that prince Takumi had begun to seek Lady Elise out.

There just had to be a line.

And she was damn well going to be the one to draw it.

* * *

"Prince Takumi? A word, if you please."

Takumi blinked some of his weariness away, turning around to come face to face with pink tinted armor. Confused, he took in the sight of one of Elise's retainers, he couldn't quite remember her name yet, but she was quite intimidating in the battlefield.

"...Effie, isn't it?" He asked, speaking again after the short nod he got in return. "Is something the matter?"

The woman stiffened just slightly, lips pursing into a small frown that for some reason send a shiver down Takumi's spine. "It's...a complicated matter."

"Complicated…? I'm sorry, but I don't understand." Takumi frowned. He really didn't understand what was going on, he hadn't even spoken more than four words to Effie before that day. "I don't think we've even talked about...anything, before."

Effie's sighed, looking just the slightest bit annoyed for the fraction of a second. "It's about Lady Elise."

"Elise?" Takumi asked, immediately on high alert. He had seen her just before going to march, and she had not taken part of it since she had to heal the wounded from the last battle they had. She was supposed to be fine. "What is it? Is she okay?"

"Lady Elise is alright, she's with Arthur right now."

Arthur, Takumi remembered, was Elise's other retainer. "Oh, okay, that's good." He nodded, noticing how Effie had taken one step closer to him. "Then what is it about her?"

"I'll be blunt." The woman spoke in her usual soft voice, but the steel in it almost made him flinch in surprise. "What are your intentions towards Lady Elise, Prince Takumi?"

"In...tentions…?" The prince repeated dumbly, caught off guard. " _What?_ "

"As Lady Elise's retainer, I must look out for her in every aspect of life. I want, no, _need_ to know what are your intentions towards my liege."

Effie's voice had lost all softness, instead, cutting steel coating it with a no-nonsense tone. For a second, Takumi got the impression that a general was speaking to him as a newbie soldier.

"Excuse me, what?" He asked again, mildly concerned and genuinely confused. "I don't think I follow."

Effie gave a long sigh, taking another step forwards. Takumi got the sudden urge to take one back, even if she had barely stepped away from the doorway.

"Prince Takumi, I've noticed that Lady Elise has taken a.. _.liking._..to your company. I know when a friendship with her blooms strongly. And in this case, it worries me."

Takumi nodded slowly, finally getting some more understanding on the situation at hand. "I...er, yes. We're...friends, I guess. Why would that worry you?"

"I'm her retainer, and her friend. It is my job to worry." The woman's voice grew soft again, only for a second. "That's why I ask you again. What are your intentions with my liege?"

Takumi could understand her, kind of. While his own retainers were more laidback when it came to his relations, they were still just a bit coddling at times. Elise's retainers definitely took the trophy for it, though.

"We're...just friends." He said, slowly. While he did understood Effie's position, he couldn't really understand her question. "I guess that's it?"

"...Just that?" Effie asked back, lips pursing in a frown and eyes squinting a bit, almost as if trying to pinpoint a lie. "...Are you sure?"

"...Yes?" He asked back, voice laced with genuine confusion. "Should there be anything else in between?"

He pushed a button, that much Takumi could tell. Effie stiffened just slightly, armor clanking against itself for a second before the woman scowled, looking at him as if he had just said a foul insult.

"No." She mutters, nodding her head once before turning around, about to exit the room. "And there shouldn't be, ever."

Takumi can't help but frown as soon as the knight slams the door shut.

* * *

The next day Elise comes bouncing to him, all bright smiles and breathy giggles as she drags him around, a game of chess tucked under her arm as she uses her free hand to hold his.

She doesn't notices anything out of the ordinary, but Takumi can feel the glare burning holes at the back of his head, along with the shine of pink armour and silver hair in the distance, watching their every moment with cautious attention.

He huffs, ignores it, and lets Elise hold his hand and entwin their fingers together like she did everyday. So what if Effie saw it? She couldn't tell him or Elise what to do.

They spent the time together, chatting, walking, sometimes sneaking a small snack or simply sitting by the shade of a tree. Takumi ignores Effie and her watchful glare the entire time, speaking freely with his usual gruff.

Whatever intentions he might or might have not towards Elise are none of her damn business, no matter how close she was to the princess.

If they wanted hang out as friends, they would hang out as friends! If they wanted to hold hands, then they would hold hand, damnit! Whenever the knight liked it or not wasn't of his concern.

* * *

 **Also no pls don't hate E** **ffie she is one of my faves. I just like how protective she is of Elise (Along with Arthur, too.) almost like a mother to her only daughter... I HAD TO use her for this, mama bear Effie trying to scare suitors away from her baby...**

 **aaaaaa...**


	11. Meeting Kiragi pt2

**I did promise a part 2 a while ago, didn't I? Sorry about that delay, inspiration has been low and...I'm running out of prompts for these two! If you guys could send some that would be awesome.**

 **I haven't had the time to work on most grammar mistakes, so more than just a few bypassed me I'm sure.**

 **Also, anyone plays Pokémon? The sun and moon demo comes out in two days! I guess Pokémon has taken most of my hype and inspiration away, that is to blame, too. Heh.**

 **Anyway, Fire Emblem not mine. Mhmm.**

* * *

Elise wasn't sure about what was happening anymore. The day had blurred together in quick timelapses until sundown, everything too fast to remember or even think about it for more than just a second.

Kiragi's words, 'mother', are still creating a dull echo inside her head that makes her throat dry and her heart skip more than just a couple of beats.

She, a mother.

A _mother._

There was doubt, and confusion. And while most of the army treated the subject with distrust she was just curious, very curious and, ashamed to admit, even hopeful.

Kiragi had explained it, Fujin Yumi being his most solid proof that quickly got him the trust of the Hoshidan soldiers of the army; It was impossible to duplicate a legendary weapon, much less use it.

The boy had a hard time explaining, and she had felt...what? Bad enough? Concerned enough? She doesn't know, but the urge to go to his side and squeeze his hand in reassurance had been strong enough for her to actually do it, and the relieved smile Kiragi had gave her literally stole her breath.

He definitely had Takumi's silent, relieved smile.

Kiragi had explained that, in the future he was from, the army had taken fatal blows before reaching the invisible kingdom, and the fallen dragon had managed to rise from Valla towards the continent.

Nohr had fallen not too long after the dragon's awakening, and the surviving soldiers had fled to Hoshido, barely a lump of a land that had been protected by a barrier made by Sakura.

" _Aunt Sakura was Hoshido's main high priestess, she managed to build a magical barrier around Hoshido to repel Vallite soldiers, like grandmother Mikoto did. It worked for both kingdoms, but after a while..."_

She doesn't wants to remember details of that talk, hearing how Xander had died defending his kingdom and had told his wife and child to run as he fought, or how Ryoma had been the first of everyone to die at the hands of the silent dragon, that Camilla had gone missing a few years after, that Leo died in the battlefield, that Hinoka and Sakura were pulling at strings trying to keep the only kingdom alive safe, that...

" _That's why we're here." Kiragi said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I don't know how it was possible, but grandmother Mikoto came to us in our sleep, or...death...and offered us the chance, and we jumped at it right away. We'll help."_

 _He looked at her, and Elise realized with a start that he had Takumi's eyes. "And I will protect mom and dad, with my life if I have to."_

Elise sighed, her face at least five shades of pink as she stepped inside the infirmary. Takumi had been awake for a while, not long enough to assist the makeshift war council hours ago, but enough to get fussy and impatient.

She couldn't exactly blame him, with a child claiming that they were his parents going around camp.

"Hey there." Elise smiled, though her mind was still elsewhere. "Bored yet?"

Takumi grunts, annoyance lacing his words. "I don't know why I was stuck in here in the first place."

"You kind of fainted in Hinoka's arms." Elise teased, and the groan that came from her friend was enough to make her giggle. "Can't blame you though, it was...shocking, really."

"What? Me fainting after surviving invisible soldiers, or the child that came from the future part?"

Her smile vanished, the ghost of it barely touching her lips. "Yeah, that…" She mumbled, and carefully walked towards Takumi, sitting at the end of his bed. "Your siblings and Camilla believes him, Most of the Hoshidan soldiers do."

"...Do you…" Takumi started, whispering the question that had been eating at him. "Do you believe him?"

Elise dipped her head, staring at some point of the floor. "...They pointed out we could have passed up as siblings." She mumbled, cheeks tinged pink and warm to the touch. "I can see it, and… and he looks like you, too. He has your eyes, and mannerism."

"He smiles like you." Takumi mumbled back, suddenly as interested in the floor as she was. "And pouts, he pouts like you do, has your energy, too."

"...Do _you_ believe him?"

"...I… I don't know." He whispered, his hand gripping the bedsheets tightly. "I can't deny that he looks like...us, and the legendary weapon, I'm just…"

"Confused?"

"Very much."

"Me too."

The silence that ensues next is borderline awkward, the sound of the wind howling outside wasn't helping the situation any.

"You know…" Elise mumbled after a while, toying with her fingers and sleeves. "I never thought I would be a mom…"

Takumi frowned slightly. "I never thought I would be a father, either…"

"It's…"

"Surprising?"

The princess nodded, pulling at her sleeves nervously. "But, seeing Kiragi...I...I don't mind…"

Takumi blinked, turning his face to look at Elise rather slowly. Heat burning the tip of his ears as he saw how pink faced Elise had gotten. "Oh."

"You...You should have seen everyone's faces when, um, Kiragi finally said it." Elise cleared her throat, a nervous giggle escaping her lips. "I think Xander and Ryoma were about to have a heart attack."

"...Were they now?" The prince asked, a hint of humour lacing his nervous whisper. Why did the room felt so very small out of all sudden? "I'm not really surprised, not about them, at least."

"Camilla burst into tears." She kept going, there was definitely more cheer in her voice than just seconds ago. "Something about being an aunt, she kept pinching Kiragi's cheeks after that."

"Ouch. Poor kid." The sentiment was legit. He had received those annoying little pinches on his face more than just once.

"Same, he looked as if he wanted to bolt."

The following silence was amicable at best, only a lingering awkwardness feeling for a couple of seconds.

"...He really is our son, isn't he?"

"How...do you feel about that?"

Elise shrugged, muttering nonsense under her breath for a second. "I'm...scared, a bit. Confused, happy. I like him already."

"Happy." Takumi muttered back, a bit of surprise in his voice as his cheeks burned a soft red. "So, you don't…"

"Mind? N-No...not really." Elise answered, kicking her feet in the air for a few seconds before going completely still. "Would it be…"

"Hm?"

"Would it be a bad time to confess? Right now?"

"Confess? Are you saying…?"

Elise looked like a bright, pink tinted light. "I really like you."

Takumi felt as if all the air inside his lungs left his body in less than a second as heat started pooling all over his face. "You like me?"

"Really, really like you." Elise mumbled, and in a bit of a childish act, hid her face with her hands. Head still tilted towards the floor. "I-I have been feeling like this for a while."

Takumi opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and tried again. He tried to ignore the wild beating of his heart that seemed to want to break through his ribcage, or ignore the fact that he could basically feel his blood rushing to the very tip of his ears.

"I...see."

"Please, don't hate me." Elise whimpered, and Takumi felt a punch to his gut at hearing the ghost of a sob in her voice.

"I don't hate you." He said, a bit too quickly. He carefully scooted closer to the petite nohrian, and gently, very gently put his hand over her shoulder. "I couldn't hate you, so-please, don't cry. Okay?"

Elise shuddered, yet still managed a weak nod. "I-I'm just...I-I don't know. I'm feeling a lot of things."

"Me too." The archer mumbled, and despite how stiff his hands were feeling at the very moment, or how his chest seemed to be ready to burst, Takumi found it in himself to gently pull Elise's hands away from her face. "But that's okay."

"I'm so...so confused." Elise whispered again, her hands slowly leaving her face and resting on top of her lap. "But...but not in a bad way."

"That's good." The hoshidan nodded, and only stared as the nohrian princess rested her head against his shoulder. The girl looked as if all the energy she had had been used thanks to her emotional dilemma.

"...I really like you, Takumi." Elise muttered again, only slight embarrassment in her voice this time. "Even if you don't like me back, I'm just happy we're..."

Takumi swallowed, and gently took one of Elise's hands, yet still staring at some point in of the floor. "I like you too." He mumbled, and frowned a bit at how quick that had sounded. "I like you too, Elise. "

He had expected a gasp, or a stiff movement of surprise. Instead, Elise's petite form stood quiet, only her head moving to the side to stare at him with with tired, hopeful eyes. "You...do?"

"Yes." He answered with a nod, squeezing her hand a little. "How could I not?"

They stood in silence for a bit, both of them processing the other's words for a while. Elise opened her mouth to speak, but only a little giggle came out as Takumi gave an embarrassed smile in return.

"I'm glad Kiragi came." The princess mumbled, a smile on her lips. "I don't think I would have confessed without that push."

"Same here." Takumi nodded, though he honestly believed he wouldn't have said anything until Elise did first. "I'm glad he…"

"I'm glad he's our son."

"You are?"

Both jumped a bit at the unexpected voice. Turning back, they could see Kiragi standing by the door, hand still around the bronze handle and one of the biggest, Elise-like smiles on his face.

"Y-Yeah."

If Takumi had thought the child looked happy with just seeing them back in the battlefield, that was nothing compared to the expression Kiragi was pulling right now. His smile seemed to grow and he could see twinkles sparkling in his eyes.

"I'm...I'm so glad you guys think so!" The little archer almost screamed, barreling inside the infirmary and pretty much tackling both of his parents-to-be in a hug. "I-I was so nervous you guys wouldn't…"

The three stay in silence for a while, holding onto each other and wrapping their minds around the fact that they were, and will be a family someday in the future.

* * *

 **I will polish details sometime tomorrow, don't worry! Please leave your reviews and tell me what you think, and leave a prompt if you want!**


	12. Smells like Death

**HELLO NAUGHTY CHILDREN**

 **IT'S HURT TIME**

 **Haha. No, honestly. This is old and it will hurt because grammar and I couldn't be bothered to spell check and also angst.**

 **It has been so long since I've updated this fic, so sorry.**

 **Love you~**

* * *

" _You are an ocean of waves, weaving a dream…"_

Azura's voice grew minimal into the background, muffled by the sound of swords clashing in metal, fire balls and wind roaring as magic cackled in the air. Shouts and hooves sounding like heavy thumps in the battlefield as Elise made her way towards the injured.

"Healer!"

"Gotcha!"

Elise galloped near Keaton, healing the wolfkin with a mending spell before quickly pulling at her mare's reins, making her turn around and run back to her position. Keaton gave a hearty howl and a wicked smile before using his beaststone, his voice wavering between human tongue and growls.

"Thanks Elise!"

The Troubadour smiled, holding her silver staff with one hand and commanding her mount with the other. While fighting wasn't her forte and, in truth, was something she hated; healing and helping the injured was something she adored. She liked helping and make people get better. It made her happy.

"Gah!"

The blonde princess turned her head and grimaced, quickly galloping towards Hinata, who was clutching his arm as the Vallite soldier fell to the ground, dissipating as the wind howled.

She needed to be quick. Her staff's gemstone glowed a bright, pale blue as the young man's skin sewed itself shut. As soon as she saw the pink, new shiny scar over his arm, the princess took off, pigtails flying behind her as she looked back and forth for people who were in need of a Healer.

"Elise!"

The Nohrian girl tugged at the reins, her mare coming to a small halt before trotting towards a black haired woman. Corrin limped towards the Troubadour and grimaced slightly, her foot throbbing with any sort of movement.

"Elise, I need-"

"Corrin! Don't worry, you'll be as good as new!"

She held her staff high, muttering the spell as the gemstone glowed and her sister gave a sigh of relief that didn't lasted long.

"Elise, we're advancing towards the troop's general. Stay close to Arthur and Effie and keep your head down, Vallite reinforcements are coming any second now!"

"G-Got it!"

* * *

Takumi breathed through his nose softly, Fujin Yumi crackling with energy as he pulled his hand back and an arrow appeared out of thin air before swiftly flying around the battlefield, piercing the head of a Vallite knight and making him dissipate like vapor in the wind, his weapon lying uselessly on the now wet grass as he approached.

"These freaks are appearing out of nowhere…"

He could see Kaze from the corner of his eye, fending off a much smaller knight with Hinoka offering coverage with her naginata. Somewhere in the distance he could see prince Xander and his retainers fighting off a General.

Taking a deep breath, Takumi quickly scanned the field and moved to his next position. Corrin had assigned him the role of taking out any lumbering soldier from the distance, mostly reinforcements that slowly tumbled towards mounted units and nearby knights. Though thankfully, a well placed arrow often did the job of turning the monsters to nothing but droplets of water and rusty weaponry.

It was still unnerving, how the bodies simply dissipated to nothing after being defeated, leaving no corpse behind nor a trail of blood. Just...disappearing.

He sighs, pulling at his weapon's string and aiming. The arrow was embedded deeply into a soldier's head, cutting through the helmet and skull as if it were nothing. Takumi watched as the creature dissolved in thin air, leaving behind a sword as the only proof it ever existed.

"Advance! We're storming the fortress!"

Takumi could see the soldiers moving, and he quickly hid behind some rocks, standing guard for any stragglers as Corrin and the others moved ahead.

* * *

She knew there was something wrong as soon as she urged her mare forwards.

The air was thick, filled with the scent of decay and sickness that only a corpse could leave behind. Her friends were quick to leave towards the fortress, now that only a general and few Vallite forces were left for them to slay. It should be over soon.

"I hope they do okay…"

Elise sighed, an odd breeze hitting her face along with a sharp stab of pain, the feeling of blood trailing down her cheek startled her, and it took her a second to notice the hatched buried in the nearby ground.

A shadow fell above her, the pungent smell of death hitting her full force as her mare startled.

Elise gave a shrill scream, her mare standing on her back legs and kicking in panic. The Vallite knight, a mountain of what a long time ago used to be a man, towered over her with menace. She barely had time to gasp before she felt something warm and coppery hit her face at the same time her mare's whiny stopped.

She fell off, her leg bending in a unnatural way that made her scream in pain a she crawled away from the heavy body of her mouth, gagging at the sight before her. Her beloved mare was dead, decapitated by the soldier's axe in a swift movement, its head rolling a few feet away from her. The _warm blood_ staining her face made her gag again, tears shining on the corner of her eyes as she crawled further away, ignoring the throbbing pain that shoot up from her leg, fear gripping at her and making her blood turn cold.

"No! No no no!"

In a hurry, the princess tried to get up, wobbling slightly and trying to run away, yet only limping and wincing as she tried to put weight in her injured leg. The undead soldier caught up to her quickly, and with a unnatural growl, he swung his axe down. Red stained the blade in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Takumi fired another arrow, rolling on his side and barely avoiding the javelin thrown at his way. The undead soldier fell limp after a second and dissipated from existence, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

However, said relief was cut short with a bloodcurdling scream. Takumi whipped his head around, hands going to his bow before he stopped, the scene away from him happening in a blink of an eye.

A soldier had snuck up on Elise. Her mount was beheaded with a swift movement of an axe and he had barely a second to breathe as the giant of a man advanced on a crying Elise.

"No! No no no!"

Then it happened. He wasn't quick enough, he wasn't close enough. But just as he pulled at his weapon's string, the undead man struck down his axe, and almost as if time stopped, he saw it.

The axe's edge cut through the Troubadour's dress and her metal plate around the abdomen, a thick line of blood spurted from the cut and to the weapon's sharp edge and the field's green grass. The petite girl's pleas were cut short at the same time she fell on her back, unmoving.

Something rang on Takumi's ears. A distant scream, soon followed by others echoed the battlefield. He barely took notice of the arrow impaling the murderous giant's neck, and it took him a second to notice that he had been running forwards the entire time, leaving Fujin Yumi behind in the field.

Color left his face as he kneeled next to Elise, time flowing like normal once again and the screams ran like a shot of thunder around them. He didn't had the time to wonder if one of the screams was coming from him, too busy checking on Elise's wound and almost crying in relief when she opened her eyes weakly.

The blonde girl gave a pitiful whimper, followed by tears and sobs of pain as she tried to bring her hands to her abdomen. She was covered in fresh blood and breathing hard, pain clear on her face as she looked at him, almost begging him to make the pain go away.

" **HEALER!** " The Hoshidan prince shouted, putting pressure on Elise's wound and looking around, he could barely catch a glimpse of a person in the distance. " _ **We need a healer! NOW!**_ "

Elise whimpered again, grasping Takumi's sleeves tightly and crying in pain as she did so. Her blood stained gloves leaving red patches on his clothes, but he couldn't care in the slightest. His own hands covered in warm blood _\- her blood-_ and it just kept going, kept flowing like a river down her body and onto the grass under them.

"Y-You're going to be okay, Elise." He stammered, trying his harder not to let his panic show in his voice. "S-Sakura is going to get here a-any second now with Azama and Jakob. Y-You're going to be fine."

She gave a shuddering breath, hands gripping even tighter as she stared at him through her tears. Her voice was barely a pitiful, soft whimper. "I-it hurts."

"I know." He mumbled, trying to keep a soothing tone of voice, yet his eyes darted wildly from the gaping wound to Elise's eyes. "I-I know. Just keep talking, alright? T-They'll get here any second now."

He wanted to say so many things; Why was she alone in the first place? Why did Corrin assigned her to just a place on the field instead of closer to her retainers? Why hadn't they trained her to use a weapon, any at all?

Why wasn't he fast enough?

A pair of arms shoved him to the side, it took him just a second to realize thatSakura and Jakob had arrived to the scene, both panting hard and Sakura almost in the verge of tears, yet muttering the incantation to the Sun Festal as quickly as she could.

"She has lost a lot of blood." Muttered Jakob, his own staff shining brightly as he looked over Elise's wound. "Prince Takumi, we need to remove her metal cover."

Acting almost in pure instinct, Takumi grabbed the metallic, sliced plate and pulled it apart through where the axe had broken it. Elise gasped in pain and gave a small, pain filled sob. He could barely make out stuttered, shocked apologies before Sakura's hand pulled away the cut part of Elise's dress and pressed her hand firmly on the damaged flesh, flinching when Elise gave a scream.

"I-It's taking a lot to heal." She mumbled in a panic, looking to Jakob for guidance. The butler gave a shaky breath at the same time his staff glowed a fierce green light. Elise gave a startled gasp, tears falling freely down her cheeks as the blood, thankfully, flowed much slower than before.

"I-I think it got her stomach, m-maybe an arter-"

" **AAAH!"**

The painful, bloodcurdling scream that came from Elise startled both Hoshidan siblings. Jakob barked an order to restrain her as she trashed around, sobbing and screaming as the blood stopping pooling under her. She looked deadly pale, even through all that blood staining her face.

"I...I-it h..urts…"

The Nohrian princess gave a small, barely audible sob before her eyes rolled back to the back of her skull. Her movement stopped immediately, all except the labored breathing she managed to do.

"E...Elise…?" Takumi muttered, feeling his heart drop and his mouth run dry. "N-No…"

"She passed out." Said Jakob, sweat rolling down his forehead as the gem on top of his staff cracked, no longer usable. "I had to mend an artery before working on anything else. Painful, but it stopped most of the bleeding."

"W-We need to take her to a safer place, quickly!" Began Sakura, her staff still shining, albeit softly, flickering off and on. "W-We need to repair the muscle a-and stomach and s-sew the skin shut. We can't risk an infection!"

Takumi nodded, gently, oh so gently, scooping the unconscious princess on his arms, barely managing a couple of steps before the flap of wings over them caught his attention. He stared at the wyvern as it got near them, landing in a hurry and giving soft, clicking sounds.

He only had half of a second to take in Camilla's wild, panic filled eyes before he made his way towards her. The eldest princess took her younger sister in her arms at the same time she motioned Sakura to ride the wyvern. The redheaded girl gave a shaky nod and quickly got behind Camilla, her staff still shining as the wyvern took off in the sky.

"She'll be okay."

Takumi nodded mutely, Elise's blood still staining his hands and sleeves. "She...She'll be okay." He mumbled back, stiffly going back to retake his weapon and running towards the battlefield.

" _She'll be okay."_


End file.
